Irish Angel
by Cerrydwenn
Summary: Onora Wales is a young girl who is abused by her mother and raped by her stepfather. She uses music as her outlet and yearns to be loved. What will happen when her music teacher forces her to help the mysterious Cullens? Rape and abuse scenes. ExOC
1. Prologue

**Cerry: Welcome, please note that this is a very mature story. Also, Bella will not be present as she is on vacation. Please read and review. I do take constructive suggestions.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any thing that has to do with Twilight. I am just borrowing the characters for my purposes. I will be using some songs I do not own and some I do.**

I sighed as I looked out the window at the clear night and silently let the tears fall. I brought my hand up to my face to wipe away a tear and cringed as I touched the bruise my mother just gave me on my cheek. The reason she slapped me this time was because I apparently embarrassed her in front of her dinner guests by coming downstairs. As soon as they all left, I was punished. At least he hadn't come after me…yet. I hated my life here in Forks, Washington USA with my parents, my mother who hated me and my step-father who raped me. I glanced down at the small journal that I had managed to grab from my home in Ireland before my mother dragged me to Forks. My name was etched in gold lettering on the cover and could still be seen in the dark room- Onora Cedhyl Wales. It was a gift from my dad a few months before he died from a heart attack over three years ago. I shook my head as I tried to drive the memories away. It was too painful to remember, and I was not allowed to show my emotions. If I was caught crying it would mean a night with HIM.

I looked out the window and gasped as I saw a shooting star. My papa called them Leprechauns and said that they flew through the skies giving luck to everyone. I smiled for the first time that night and stood up. My papa told me that when you saw one you had to make a wish and hope that they heard it. So I closed my eyes and spun around three times before whispering my wish into my hands and throwing it up into the sky. "I wish someone would love me and take me far away from here." I gasped again when I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I hid the journal in a drawer and sat in a corner of my room as I prayed that whoever it was would skip over my room. As the door knob shook, I knew my prayers were answered with a big "NO!" I tried my best to blend into the corner as much as I could, but is eyes found me. He turned on the light and smiled at me. I bit back a small whimper as closed the distance between us. He was a very strong man with broad shoulders and thick arms; there was no way I was ever going to be able to fight him off,

He held out his hand and I had no choice; I took it and he pulled me up. He grabbed my chin and turned my head so he could look at the bruise.

"That looks like it hurts," he said, "Let me kiss it." He then began a trail of butterfly kisses down my cheek before planting his mouth on mine. My instincts took over for a second and I tried to push him away. He just pushed me onto the bed and climbed on top of me. He smiled as his hands glided under my shirt and to my breasts. Then, I heard my mother calling him. He had a phone call. I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as my door closed. Apparently my prayers had been answered. At least for tonight.


	2. New Students

Cerry: Here is the first chapter. Please read and review.

Onora's POV

I watched the rain fall down as I looked through the car window I frowned. I missed the weather of Quinn, a small town in Clár. There was rain and lots of it, but, at least it was warmer there. I sighed as I remembered the rare clear night we had a few weeks ago. There had not been a clear night since the night I made that wish. I stole a glance at the clothes that He had picked out for me. I was wearing a thigh length white skirt with blue tights. I also had a blouse with three quarter length sleeves the same color as the leggings and white boots. _He_ said it made my blue eyes pop. Of course I did not have any choice in my wardrobe. I didn't have a choice in anything anymore. My bright red curls were tamed back with some pins and hung about halfway down my back. _He_ said I had to look my best so his law firm in Port Angeles wouldn't think he was unsophisticated. Ha! If only they knew what _He_ really did, then they wouldn't think he was _sophisticated_.

"Something wrong Miss Wales?" I looked up into the rearview mirror and saw the my driver, Christopher Jennings, concern filling his eyes. Yes, I know. I am 16 and I still have someone drive me to school. My stepfather won't even let me get my driver's license. _He_ says it is because the road is too dangerous and _He_ doesn't want to have the chance of losing me. I think it is because I will have a way to finally get out of here.

"Just thinking about the first day of the school," I lied. I had gotten pretty good at lying in the past few years, and all my lies rolled off the tongue. "I can't wait to start my music classes this year." I smiled my perfected fake smile. "I just want to begin performing again." Well, that wasn't a lie. I loved to perform and couldn't wait to get back on stage. My papa always said that I was meant to be on stage. I loved to sing and dance. I even did a little acting; so when the music teacher and the English teachers got together to produce a musical, I was one of the first to audition. I was a little upset that the school didn't have a dance or drama program, but He let me attend dance lessons at a school in Port Angeles. As for acting, I was forced to act everyday of my life.

My driver smiled, "And I can not wait to see you perform." The car began to slow down, "We are here Miss Wales." The car stopped in front of the school and I waited for him to open my door. I grabbed his hand and he helped me step out of the car. I could already feel eyes on me as I grabbed my stuff and the umbrella from him, and began to walk towards the school. This was another thing I hate about Forks. Back home, I was loved and had a ton of friends. Here, I was ignored by almost everybody. I felt so alone here. _He_ wouldn't even let me talk to my friends from home. My two best friends, Aideen and Keara probably thought I was a snob too. I could feel the tears pool in my eyes, so I stopped so I could get control of my emotions. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a few seconds. Then I pulled out my schedule and looked it over:

1st Period- English 3

2nd Period- Algebra 2

3rd Period- Gym

4th Period- American History

Lunch

5th Period- Music

6th Period- Biology

I groaned. I was really bad at math and science so I hated it. I tried to get a tutor, but no one would help me. The only good class that I had this year was Music which I had replaced a foreign language with. I went to a gaelscoil school in Ireland where Irish was the primary language in the lessons. Since I could already speak another language, the school let me skip over the foreign language requirement. Well, one good thing, I only had two years left with Him and then I could leave. _If I could stand another two years…_

"Okay, room 208," I said to myself as I walked down the hall. Suddenly, I tripped and began to fall, but before I hit the ground I was caught by cold hard arms and looking up into gold eyes.

"Are you okay?" the eyes asked in a musical voice and I could feel my face heating up. After a few more seconds I was finally pulled into a standing position and I was able to get a good look at the owner of the golden eyes. He had bronze hair that framed a strong face and stood out against his pale skin. My heart sped up and drummed loudly in my ears as I took in his good looks. I didn't recognize him, but I knew that the town had been brimming with gossip about a new doctor and his family. I guess this guy was his son. "Are you okay?" he repeated, this time with a little more alarm.

I nodded frantically when I realized I was staring rudely at him, "Thank you for catching me." I heard snickering and realized we had an audience. There were four other people standing behind him; two boys and two girls. The all had the same gold eyes and pale skin, but they still looked different. One girl had short spiky hair and was shorter than me. I was only 5'1"! The other girl had the beauty of a goddess with her flowing locks of blonde hair and a figure with just the right curves in all the right places. She glared at me as if I was a bug that had crawled across the floor. _Great! Another person to make me feel like crap._ One of the males looked a little like her with honey blond hair and well toned muscles. He looked to be confused, in pain, and angry all at the same time. My heart stopped, literally stopped, when my gaze landed on the last and biggest guy in the group. It was _Him_! He had the same brown curly hair and large muscles as my stepfather. They even had the same nose! The only difference was that my stepfather clearly showed the signs of being forty while this guy looked to be in his early twenties. _I'm not even safe at school anymore._

My breath came in short gasps as I began to hyperventilate. Then I fainted and was out before I hit the floor.

My eyes opened to a bright light right above my head. I quickly closed my eyes so they could adjust. I heard voices, but couldn't really make out what was being said. My eyes finally adjusted to the lights and I was able to look at my surroundings. The white walls and distinct smell of rubbing alcohol made it clear I was in the clinic. I tried to sit up but wave of nausea hit me and I slumped back down. I stifled a groan and waited for the feeling to pass.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up," said the same musical voice from earlier.

Nausea forgotten, I sat up and looked him in the eye for the second time that day. Before I could a word out, the nurse came bustling over.

"I was just about to call your stepfather," she said as she felt my forehead for a fever, but I jumped up out of her reach. I really didn't want Him to come and pick me up early. _That would mean more time for him…_ I stopped the thought. School was the only time I could get away from _Him_ and I certainly didn't want him polluting my thoughts.

"You don't need to call him," I said. "I will be okay." Even as I said that, I felt my hands shake and the nauseous feeling returned. "It must have been because I skipped breakfast this morning." _Actually I threw it up after my mother called me fat. _When I saw the nurse's worried look, I tried to reassure her. "I'll eat a big lunch, I promise."

"Fine, but if you feel worse, come straight to me," she demanded and smiled. "I will get you both a note." She walked away into her office.

I looked back at the guy who, I guess, brought me here. "I guess I have you to thank for helping me again. So thank you." He turned to me and I couldn't really read his emotions.

"It was not a problem," Even his voice was void of emotion.

_I guess I just do that to some people. _To avoid talking to him, I began to look around for my bag when I found it pushed into my hands. I murmured another "Thank you" and hefted it onto my back. Finally the nurse came back and handed us both notes since we were late for first period. I fainted and it couldn't even last past second period. _Damn, I am going to have to be tortured through math. _I thought I heard a chuckle so I turned and saw that he had finally smiled.

"So I finally get a smile out of you and I can't figure out why," I commented as we left the clinic. "My name is Onora Wales, by the way."

"Edward Cullen," he replied. "My siblings and I moved here with our foster parents. My father is the new doctor, Dr. Carlisle Cullen."

_Foster parents? Was he an orphan just like me? _Instead of voicing my thoughts, I said,"Yes, he has been the topic of town gossip for weeks now." I stopped when I finally came across room 208. "Here's my class. I guess I'll see you around." I put my hand on the door knob, "And thanks again." When I twisted to face him, he was already halfway down the hall. _I knew it, I do make people void of any emotion. _I took a deep breath and walked into my class.

Cerry: I hope you enjoyed it! More to come.


	3. Alone

Ciami: Hello everyone! Thanks to all the reviewers and everyone who read my story! Sorry this is up so late, I take 4 college classes and one of them is calculus and is super hard and takes up all my time. I do not own any of the Twilight characters, I just rented them. The lullaby is mine. I know that this chapter doesn't show the Cullens much, but it is mainly about characterizing Onora. Edward's POV is next.

Onora's POV

The rest of the morning went by pretty uneventful. Edward and his siblings were the talk of the school. Of course I heard my name thrown in several times because of the incident before class, but I was used to ignoring stares and gossip. As the morning progressed, my book-bag became heavier with all the books. When I saw the textbook for Algebra 2, I almost cried. I knew I was going to need a tutor just from looking at the first chapter in the book. I wish I could just take music all day long.

As I left my history class, I tried to shove another book into my already full book bag. Then I realized that I could drop them off at my locker and head over to the music room. Miss Sykes always let me eat my lunch in her classroom and play the instruments. I had another idea for a song and wanted to work on it. I had just opened my locker when I heard my name shouted from down the hall. I looked over and saw Alice running towards me. I remembered that I had promised to meet her for lunch. Damn, I just wanna be left alone. I grew a little jealous as I watched her run with the grace of a gazelle. I had been dancing since I was four and I hadn't been able to reach that level of gracefulness.

I pushed the jealousy aside and waved at her. She stopped in front of me and smiled.

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't forget that you were eating lunch with me today," she said as she grabbed my hand and began to drag me away with me crying out protests. I didn't like being dragged anywhere, especially when I didn't know where I was going. I yelled for Alice to stop and tried my hardest to pull my hand out of her grasp, but it was difficult. For such a small girl, she was really strong.

I finally stopped arguing and let her lead me down the hall. We stopped in front the doors to the cafeteria. The blond guy from earlier was waiting outside the doors. He still looked as if he was in a lot of pain. However, now that I could get a good look at him I saw that he was cute. His dirty blonde hair had a sort of roughness to hit that framed his strong face. He came over to us and the pain in his eyes became something I didn't recognize as he looked at Alice. Alice quickly dropped my hand.

"Hello Alice, how did your classes go?" he asked in a southern drawl and grabbed her hands. I nearly drooled at his accent. My heart sped up. I was falling in love.

I felt like I was intruding on something personal and turned to go, but I felt a tug on my bag.

"Don't even think about it," Alice said and pulled me back. "Onora, this is Jasper. He is my boyfriend. Jasper, this is Onora, she is my new best friend."

Whoa! Wait, new best friend? She knows me for less than a day and she already thinks of me as her best friend. And of course she has to be the girlfriend that I just fell head over heels for. Come on Onora, be strong. You can't have a boyfriend. You can't even have a friend. You should end it before it even starts.

I opened my mouth to tell her that I couldn't eat lunch with her when Jasper interrupted.

"Alice, don't you think that you should be friends before calling her your best friend?" Japer asked and smiled. She looked at me, "How are you? Are you feeling better?"

I blushed as the memory of this morning came rushing back. I can't believe I fainted in front a bunch of people this morning. "I'm fine, thank you." As long as that one guy from this morning stays away from me, I will be more than fine. "Are we going to go eat, or stand here for the next 45 minutes? I don't know about you, but I am starving." I put on my best smile and walked through the door. The cafeteria was already filled with students, but the lunch line wasn't too long. I quickly walked across the cafeteria as I ignored the whispers and stares and got in line. Because I threw up my food this morning, I was starving and I impatiently waited for the line to move.

We finally reached the food and I grabbed two slices of pizza, a salad, and a double chocolate brownie. I loved chocolate and licked my lips a little as I thought of eating it. I paid for my lunch and waited for Alice and Jasper to pay for theirs. Alice motioned for me to follow when she finished paying and I followed her to the back of the cafeteria where a lone table sat. There were already three people sitting at the table and I stopped when I recognized them. One of them was Edward and he was sitting next to the blonde who already seemed to hate me and she was leaning up against the big one who looked exactly like Him. I froze and for a second I couldn't breathe again.

"Onora, are you okay?" Alice asked and shook me. I took in a breath and then coughed as the air entered my deprived lungs.

"I'm fine," I quickly tried to assure her. I leaned in closer and whispered, "Do we have to eat with him?" I pointed at the big one. Edward was looking at me like I was crazy and it made me nervous. Maybe eating lunch out here with them was a bad thing.

Alice laughed at my question, "None of us will bite you. Rosalie may, but no one else will."

We walked to the table and I tried my hardest to get the chair that was as far away from the big guy as possible. Again, I received stares from everyone, but I ignored them. I set my tray down and sat down with my eyes on my food. I could only ignore stares for so long and I was beginning to feel self-conscience and was quickly losing my appetite. I hated it when people watched me like this when I was trying to eat. After 3 years of being told I was a fat whore by my mother, I believed her. Now when I ate, I usually ate alone or threw it up later on. Sometimes I didn't eat at all. I cringed and blushed when my stomach decided to give me its opinion of my current diet.

"So Onora, let me introduce you to the rest," Alice said and I looked up. She flitted around the table until she was standing behind the blonde and the big one. "This is Rosalie Hale and her boyfriend Emmett Cullen."

My fear of the big one called Emmett was shortly forgotten as I became confused. I even took a few bites of pizza before asking, "But aren't you all related?"

I heard a scoff come from Rosalie, but I didn't react. I looked at Edward for an answer because he was the one who told me they were all siblings.

Edward smiled before giving me a reply, "Alice, Emmett and I were adopted by Carlisle and his wife Esme. Jasper and Rosalie are twins who are relatives of Esme. She and Carlisle took them in after their parents died. So we are not really related by blood."

I shrugged my shoulders and set my pizza down. Nothing scandalous there I guess. Now if they knew what I did in my free time… I picked up my fork about to cut into my dessert when I was suddenly pushed off my seat and pizza and brownie fell on top of me as I hit the floor with laughter ringing in my ears. My blouse now had a huge read and brown spot on it. I cursed under my breath as I looked up to see what had pushed me. It wasn't really a what, but a who; Lauren Mallory.

I stood up and brushed food off my top, "Mallory, you are going to pay for this." I was surprised that I was able to keep my accent under control. When I became scared or angry, it came back.

Lauren, who was leaning up against the table showing off her cleavage for the guys to see, turned around to face me, "And how are you going to do that? Are you going to get your step-daddy lawyer to sue me?" She smirked, "I actually did you a favor Wales, I embarrassed you before you began to think that someone actually cares about you and embarrassed yourself." She waved me away, "You might want to run along now."

I ran out of the room without another word as the whole cafeteria rang with mocking laughter. I didn't stop running until I made it to the only sanctuary God had allowed me in this Hell called Forks. The classroom for Music. I tested the handle and was happy to find it unlocked and even happier to find the class room empty of any students or teachers. I quickly walked into the classroom and closed the door. I leaned against the wall for a few seconds to get control of my emotions and wiped away the few tears that had managed to escape. I looked around and my eyes landed on the piano. I ran over to it and sat down. My papa had taught me how to play the piano years ago and it was one of my favorite instruments. A familiar tune came to mind and I began to play it. It was a slow melody, but full of love and happiness. After a few beats, I began to sing the words.

"Go to sleep my little bird,

Close your eyes.

Let the angels protect you

As they guard the skies.

No worries will haunt you through the night,

'cause I'll be holding you very tight.

Go to sleep my little bird,

Rest your head.

Let your mind wander

As I tuck you in bed.

Forget today, 'cause tomorrow is anew,

And I'll always be here loving you."

I finished the song and closed the piano as tears rained down my cheeks.

"That was really beautiful," a musical voice commented behind me making me gasp.

I turned around to see Edward pulling a tissue out of his pants pocket. He sat down next to me and handed it to me. I gave him a small smile in thanks and wiped the tears off my face.

"So, what was that song you were singing?" Edward asked me after a few minutes of silence. "Did you write it?"

I shook my head, "My papa wrote it when I was a baby and sang it to me every night until I moved here. It was a lullaby and he always said it was only for his little bird. That was me." I looked down at the huge stain that covered my shirt and groaned. "Now if I could only make this stain disappear." I was grateful that Edward wasn't talking about my tears. I was already humiliated enough as it was.

"Oh, Alice always brings an extra set of clothes to school and she thinks she might have a top for you," he quickly reassured me. "She went to her locker to get it; after she yelled at that Lauren girl for a bit."

She knows me for less than a day and she already acts like a best friend. Maybe it will be a good friendship.

At that moment, the door opened and Alice ran in holding a blouse that looked very similar to mine. She danced up to the piano, grabbed my arm, and dragged me out of the classroom to the bathroom across the hall. Without saying a word, she handed me the shirt and pointed to a stall. I went in and changed just in time for the bell to ring.

"Thanks Alice," I said as we walked out into the hallway. "I don't know what I would do without you."

She gave me a hug, "No problem, I'll see you after school." She waved goodbye and walked away down the hall. I reentered the music room and was a little happy to see Edward, but that feeling disappeared when I saw Rosalie sitting next to him and the only available seat was right next to her.

This is going to be a wonderful year. I sat down and tried to not look at Rosalie as she glared at me. I guess just breathing the same air as her is offensive. I shrugged my shoulders as the bell rang again and Miss Sykes walked to the front of the classroom.

"I am going to call your names for attendance," she began and held up a clipboard. "When you hear your name, please stand up and tell us what you play, or if you sing etcetera." She looked at the clipboard and called the first name, Edward Cullen.

Edward stood up and straightened his jacket, "I play the piano and compose music." Then he quickly sat down. She continued to call names until she reached Rosalie Hale. When she stood up, every boy in the room seemed to have the first breath of life.

She gave a flick of her hair and said, "I play the piano as well. I also sing." I groaned a bit as she sat down. If her voice was musical when she talked, I didn't want to hear her sing. It seemed even music had given up on me.

"Onora Wales," I looked up when my name was called and I slowly rose to my feet.

"Umm, I like to sing and play the piano," I began nervously. "I also like to play the guitar." I sat down and took a deep breath as Miss Sykes began talking about the pieces we were going to begin with this semester.

"… Then I will break you all off into groups of two to do a piece on stage in front of all Forks for your midterm," she finished with a smile. I saw some hands go up and without letting them ask she added, "And no, you cannot pick your partners."

I quickly did a count and frowned. In the past years, there were always an odd number of students that would make me end up by myself instead of in a group. This year, it seemed I would not be able to have that luxury. The bell finally rang and I grabbed my bag and ran out of the room without a word to anyone. I had biology next and I had to get there early to reserve one of the good lab tables.

The class was mostly empty when I got there and I was able to grab a table near the front. I pulled out my journal and tried to work on the song when another came to mind. I remembered how Jasper and Alice seemed to talk without sharing words. I wrote down the title "When You Say Nothing At All" and instead of listening to Mr. Banner, I jotted down ideas for the new song. When the bell finally rang, I packed up quickly and ran out to the front to wait for my driver.

"Hey Onora!" I heard Alice call from across the parking lot. She ran up to me and it was with the same grace from that morning. As soon as she reached me she began to jump up and down, "Do you wanna come over?" I couldn't believe she still had energy left after a day at school.

I shook my head, "I have dance lessons till seven." I wouldn't have been able to go over to her house anyway. He had a strict rule about what I could do with friends. "Sorry, I wish I could."

Alice looked disappointed for a second and then a huge smile spread across her face, "Maybe next time then."

My driver pulled up in the black sedan and stepped out. He walked around and opened the door with a slight tip of his hat at me and Alice, "Good afternoon Miss Wales and Miss."

"Hello, Mr. Jennings," I replied and waved goodbye to Alice before sliding into the car. I heard Alice call "Nice ride!" before the door closed and I smiled as we drove off.

Three hours later, I was standing in front of Fantastical Dance Studio in Port Angeles waiting for Him to come and pick me up. I cringed as I switched my weight from my right foot to my left foot trying to relieve the pain. We did the samba and my partner kept stepping on my foot.

Finally, His Jaguar pulled into the parking lot and stopped in front of the building. I took a deep breath and stepped into the front passenger seat. "Hello Father," I greeted quietly. He got off on being called "Father" and had forced me to call Him that since I arrived.

"Hello Onora," he said and ran a hand down my thigh. It took everything I had to not shudder. "How was school?"

"Okay," I shrugged and looked out the window. He didn't ask me anymore questions, he just kept rubbing his hand on my thigh and the occasional breast grab.

When we finally made it home, I ran into the kitchen to find something to eat. Since I wasn't able to eat lunch, I was starving. Luckily, I found a couple cans of ravioli in the pantry and watched as the bowl turned in the microwave. I loved ravioli. After I finished eating, I decided to go to my room hoping that He would leave me alone tonight.

I saw my mother already passed out drunk on the couch. Her hair, so much like my own, covered her face. I looked a lot like my mother. She had met my papa while abroad in Ireland. She fell in love, got pregnant, fell out of love and returned to America. Papa always said it wasn't my fault, but sometimes I couldn't help feeling responsible.

I barely placed one foot on the second floor when my name was called from His office. I knew that if I didn't do what I was told, then it would be worse. I slowly made my way to the office and knocked.

"Come in," He said and I could hear lust in his voice.

I pushed the door open and saw Him sitting at his desk. In no time at all, I was pushed against his desk with my back to Him. I felt as my tights and panties were pulled down. He reached underneath my blouse and rotated my breasts in his hands. I felt butterfly kisses along my neck. He stopped in one place and began to suck on my neck like a vampire drinking blood for the first time. Then He entered me and I bit my lip to keep from crying out. He hated it when I cried out. He pumped in and out and with every push I was knocked against the desk and I grabbed the sides of the desk. I knew that I would have a huge bruise on my abdomen the next day. Finally, with a scream of my name, He climaxed. He pulled himself out and put his pants back on. Without a word, I knew I was dismissed. I grabbed my discarded clothes and ran out of the office to the bathroom.

I climbed in the shower and scrubbed myself red, even though I knew that no amount of soap and hot water would erase the feeling of His fingers on my body. After I had a shower and was in my pajamas, I climbed into bed. Thinking life would be better if I had died, I cried myself to sleep.

Ciami: Hope you enjoyed it, please read and review!


	4. Attracted to a human

Cerrydwenn: Yes, I changed my name. This one is much prettier. Sorry this took so long. I had four research papers due and was worded out. Now I got the itch to write again. Next chapter should be up in the next few weeks. Review and tell me what you think.

Edward's POV

School… the hell that was created by humans to keep the young ones in check. Here I was, forced to attend it again. I pulled up into the parking lot of Forks High School and watched as all the students filed through the doors.

Before stepping out, I rubbed my temples, "Alice, if I have to hear another Justin Beiber song, I am going to crash your precious Porsche into your closet." She had been singing his songs in her head all morning and I was almost at my breaking point. Her reply was a large smile and another song.

I climbed out of my car and took a quick look at my siblings. Of course, Rosalie had to have a glare for everything. Emmett was too busy eyeing her and his thoughts made me prefer Alice's singing. Poor Jasper, he was the one who had to deal with all the emotional turmoil that comes with high school. Alice was bobbing her head to whatever tune she was humming.

We still had a few minutes before classes, so we stood in front of our lockers talking. _"If I could stand another two years…" _a random thought rose above the buzz. I looked in the direction the thought was coming from and saw a young girl with bright head of hair walking down the hall. "Okay, room 208," she muttered and Alice perked up. Her first class was in 208 as well. Suddenly, the scent of oranges and strawberries hit me, but I wasn't crazy with thirst. I looked over at Jasper and he seemed normal as ever. Or as normal as a 200 year-old vampire could be.

At the last minute, another girl standing across me stuck her foot out and the redhead tripped. I was able to catch her before she hit the ground and found she had piercing blue eyes. I asked if she was okay, but I didn't get an answer. I helped her stand up and asked her again.

She nodded, "Thank you for catching me." Emmett began to chuckle and she looked over my shoulder to my siblings. Of course, Rosalie had to make her feel bad about herself. _"I'm not even safe at school anymore," _she thought when she saw Emmett. She began to hyperventilate and within seconds had fainted. Again, I caught her before her body slammed into the floor.

"Why don't you all go to class," I told my siblings as I held her bridal style. I could hear snickers and whispers from the other students. "I'm going to take her to the clinic. See you at lunch." I walked toward the clinic and explained to the nurse what happened; leaving out the aversion to Emmett.

I sat next to her bed for twenty minutes waiting for her to wake up. She sat up, but slumped back down and I could make out a slight groan.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up," I said. She sat up again and looked me in the eye. Her eyes captivated me, but the nurse joined us before I could get completely lost in her stare.

"I was just about to call your stepfather," the nurse remarked and felt the girl's head for a fever. The girl jumped away from her touch. _"That would mean more time with him." _She thought and I became confused at what it meant. I couldn't get involved though, even this was against the rules.

She tried to reassure the nurse by saying she skipped breakfast. I frowned when I heard her think that she threw it up after her mother called her fat. Why would her mother call her fat?

"I'll eat a big lunch," she said. "I promise."

The nurse believed her and went to get us noted since we were both late to class.

The girl looked at me again, "I guess I have you to thank for helping me again, so thank you."

"It was not a problem." To keep from her wanting to get too close, I made it seem like I didn't care. _"I guess I just do that to people." _I didn't mean to make her sad.

She looked around and I figured that she was looking for her bag. I shoved it into her arms and she murmured a "thank you." After the nurse came back with out notes, I laughed when I heard her think about suffering through math. Okay, so she wasn't all bad.

"I finally get a chuckle out of you and I can figure out why," she commented as we left the clinic. "My name is Onora Wales by the way."

"Edward Cullen," I supplied. "My siblings and I moved here with our foster parents. My father is the new doctor, Dr. Carlisle Cullen."

"_Foster parents? Is he an orphan like me?" _Weird, her stepfather must be her only family. She said instead, "Yes, he has been the topic of town gossip for weeks now."

Of course we were the topic of the recent gossip. The people in this town didn't really have anything better to do. We finally stopped when we got to her classroom. "…I'll see you around. And thanks again." I was already halfway down the hall when she said her goodbye. _"I knew it, I do make people void of emotion." _She didn't know how wrong she was, but getting close to her was the worst thing I could do.

Through the rest of the morning, my siblings questioned me on what happened. All except Alice, who invited her to have lunch with us. That little pixie seriously needed a talking to.

Finally lunch up and I made my way over to the cafeteria and stepped in line behind Emmett. I didn't even look at what I was picking up. After I paid for my lunch, I sat down at the table that Rosalie had already picked out and waited. A few minutes later, I saw Alice, Jasper, and Onora walking toward the table. I was surprised; Jasper usually was in pain by trying to control his thirst. Today he actually had a smile on his face.

When Onora saw Emmett, she froze and it seemed she stopped breathing.

"Onora, are you okay," Alice asked her. _"She was fine just a second ago." _She shook the short red head and Onora coughed as she sucked in air.

"I'm fine," she said and leaned in closer. "Do we have to eat with him?"

We all heard the question and I could tell Emmett was trying to hide his hurt. Rosalie growled under her breath, _"She shouldn't be eating with us."_ Apparently I was looking at her weird because she started to feel nervous and regretted her decision for agreeing to eat lunch with us.

"None of us will bite you. Rosalie may, but no one else will," Alice replied as she laughed and continued toward our table. They sat down and Alice introduced Rosalie and Emmett.

"But aren't you related?" Onora asked confused.

That was also the first question when people found out Rosalie and Alice were dating Emmett and Jasper. "Alice, Emmett and I were adopted by Carlisle and his wife Esme. Jasper and Rosalie are twins who are relatives of Esme. She and Carlisle took them in after their parents died. So we are not really related by blood," I answered with a smile.

We were all quiet for a few moments when some girl came by and pushed Onora off the table; tray and all. Alice, Jasper and I stood up as this "Mallory" girl leaned against the table.

"I actually did you a favor Wales, I embarrassed you before you began to think that someone actually cares about you and embarrassed yourself." She waved her hand as if dismissing a servant, "You might want to run along now."

Before anyone could protest, Onora turned and ran out of the cafeteria. Everyone began to laugh and make snide remarks. For some reason, I wanted to tear everyone in the room to pieces.

Lauren leaned closer to me, "So, now that I got rid of that fat whore, why don't you and I get acquainted?"

I lightly shoved her aside as I began to follow Onora. I hear Alice yelling insults at the Lauren girl as I walked down the hall. Even though I wasn't attracted to her blood, I was able to track her down I heard Alice think she had a blouse for Onora in the car. So my pesky sister had seen something like this happening. I walked into the music room to hear the most beautiful music I had ever heard. I saw Onora sitting at the piano singing a lullaby. When she finished and started to cry and I approached her, "That was beautiful."

She turned and I handed her a tissue. She told me she had been singing a lullaby her father had written and sang to her every night. Little Bird, what a cute nickname. She looked down at her stained blouse and frowned.

"Oh, Alice always brings extra an extra set of clothes and she might have a top for you." I didn't know why, but I wanted to take up this fragile girl and hold her and keep her safe. "She went to her locker to get it; after she yelled at that Lauren girl for a bit." I smiled at her thought. I should have known that Alice would have already picked a best friend. At that moment, Alice came running into the room with the blouse. She grabbed Onora's elbow and they were gone. I picked up my stuff and grabbed a seat hoping I could sit next to Onora. Maybe it had to do with her scent. She made me feel less like a vampire. Less like a monster. I didn't know why, but I made a mental note to ask Carlisle what he thought later. The bell ring and people began to file in. Rosalie took a seat next to me, and Onora grudgingly sat next to her. Music went by very quickly and I finally went off to Spanish. I hated having to take Spanish, mainly because I could speak the language better than the teacher.

Finally, the agonizing day ended and I made my way to the car. I heard Alice ask Onora over to our house and Onora politely decline. Dance lessons. Oh great, now Alice was going to want to take dance lessons. I could see that she was already making plans in her head. She even chatted about dance lessons all the way home.

"Rosalie, you should take them with me," she said nonchalantly as she walked into the house. "Oh, good, you are."

We all went our separate ways, me and the others to our rooms. All except Alice. She stayed downstairs to talk about Onora to Esme.

I didn't really know what to think of her. I could tell Jasper liked being around her. He was the newest to the "vegetarian" diet and struggled the most. He also felt his thirst disappear. He liked being able to feel human. I wondered if he knew she had a crush on him. I turned on my CD player and again I thought of those blue eyes that went so well with the red hair. What was I thinking? A human? Not in this lifetime!

As I listened, I began to envision Onora's voice to the songs. I violently shook my head. I had to get her out of my head. The door slammed and I was brought out of my trance by Carlisle's arrival. Remembering what I wanted to talk to him about, I raced downstairs.

"Hello Edward," he greeted as he set down his stuff. "How was school?"

"It was high school," I said as I shrugged my shoulders. "It doesn't change much."

He smiled at me and was about to head upstairs when I called for him to stop. "There was this one girl there though. She had a scent, but it seemed to make me less thirsty. I felt human."

Carlisle stopped and began to think, "That is very strange. I have never heard of that." He suddenly got a look in his eye.

"You want to meet her don't you?" I asked teasingly. Carlisle was always looking for new things to study.

Alice and Jasper joined us and Alice was nearly jumping. "Rosalie and I are going to take dancing lessons with her. She seems really nice." This made me groan. We were vampires. We weren't supposed to make friends. I was sure that if she found out what we really were, she would run screaming. I could smell the smoke from the torches already.

I sighed, hoping I could let my sister down easy, "Alice, we're not going to be here long. Are you sure you should be making friends with humans. It's dangerous for them."

She just smiled, "Just you wait Edward Cullen. You'll see."


	5. In trouble

**Cerrydwenn: **Sorry this took so long, I had a few bad things happen and had to get through them first. I hope you like this chapter. Please read and review. Also, if there is anything any of you would like to see please tell me and I will consider putting it in.

**Onora's POV**

I waved goodbye to Alice and Rosalie from the backseat of the car as my driver drove away from school. I was surprised when they both showed up in my dance class the week before. Alice and I had become fast friends over the past week and even Rosalie was warming up to me a bit. She wasn't scowling in my direction anymore at least.

It was Tuesday, which meant math and science tutoring. However, my tutor was sick and I was on my way home. I tried not to cringe at the thought of interrupting my mother's day. She hated it when her plans were interrupted by the daughter she never wanted. I hoped I could sneak in through the door quietly and get up to my room. My heart was beating loudly when we pulled into the driveway and I stepped out of the car. I gave a small wave to the driver before walking up to the door. When I entered through the front door, I saw my mother asleep on the couch. There was a bottle of vodka on the floor next to her. I rolled my eyes as I tiptoed up the stairs. My mother couldn't go one day without getting drunk.

I made it up to my room and decided to work on homework. I pulled out my math book with a frown and set it on the desk. After pulling out my iPod and putting in the ear buds, I sat down to begin my math homework. I didn't realize that the time had gone by so quickly when my bedroom door suddenly burst open. I looked up surprised to see _Him_ standing in the doorway glaring down at me, his hands behind his back. I instantly pulled out my ear buds and stood up.

"I was calling your name Onora," he said and I could feel the frost in his voice. "How many times do I have to tell you to come when you are called?"

I stepped back defensively and began stammering out an apology, "I-I was d-d-doing homework F-father. I-I'm sorry."

His gaze softened a bit, "I'm glad you're focusing on your studies, but I must have a talk with you." He closed the door and I felt my stomach plummet. "I heard from a little bird that you've been making friends with some people at school."

"They were new and I was just being nice," I tried to explain.

Heshook his head and brought his hands in front of him revealing rope, "You know the rules Onora." He came closer and grabbed my arm. "You cannot have any friends. Friends only hurt you and they won't take care of you like I do."

_Like you take care of me? _I thought. I began to beg as he pulled me toward my bed. "I was just trying to be nice. I won't see them anymore I promise."

"That's right," he said as he pushed me onto the bed. "If I find out that you're talking with again, I'll put you in the basement."

I nearly fainted. The basement held a small metal cage that was barely big enough for me to sit up in. It held shackles for my hands and feet and a collar on a chain. _He _had told me the first time I was put into it that if I was going to act like a dog he would treat me like one. I had been punished for trying to runaway, but of course he found me. I had spent a week in the cage, after that I never tried running away again.

"I won't do it again," I promised and tried to sit up, but he forced me back down. "Since you broke the rules, you have to be punished," he grabbed my arm again and tied it to the bed post. Then he went around the bed and tied both my legs and my other arm to the bed.

"Please," I begged, knowing what he was about to do. "I won't do it again. Please." After ripping off my clothes, he climbed on top of me and plunged hard into me cry out in pain.

Several hours later, I finally opened my eyes. I realized my hands and feet were free and tried to move, but my back and thighs protested. I glanced over at my clock and saw that it was after three in the morning. _I must have passed out._ I tried again to move, and after several tries, I was able to finally sit up. It took me another five minutes to stand up and then making small steps I finally got to the bathroom.

I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed my face was fine. He never hit my face in case of bruises. However, there were cuts covered in dried blood on my wrists and hand print bruises up and down my arms. I even noticed long scratches on my stomach and more bruises and blood on my legs.

"Great," I muttered. "Guess I better take a shower." I gathered up my stuff and climbed in the shower. The warm water soothed me a bit, but my muscles still ached when I moved. I washed my hair and rinsed of all the blood and decided to sit in the bath for a few minutes. I thought the jets could ease the pains in my muscles.

I filled the large tub with hot water and slowly lowered myself into the tub. The aches began to ease a bit as soon as I turned the jets on. I relaxed for about thirty minutes before climbing out and getting dressed. I passed by my bedroom and entered one of the guest bedrooms we had. There was no way I was going back to sleep in my room. I lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "Why did you leave me Papa?" I asked aloud and the room remained silent, like it always did.

The next morning I woke up and groaned. My whole body hurt. I made myself get out of bed and walk over to my room. I stopped when I saw the bloodstained sheets on my bed and the memories of last night came flooding back. I took in a deep breath to keep from crying and rushed over to pull the sheets from the bed.

"These'll be going into the trash," I said to myself and threw them on the floor. Then, as quickly as I could, I dressed in a gray striped sweater dress and black leggings. After pulling on my boots, I slowly made my way downstairs. Each step felt like a dozen knives were being thrust into my back, but I kept going. I could have stayed home, but there was no way I was staying home with Mother.

He was sitting at the kitchen table when I entered the kitchen. He lowered his newspaper to look at me and I wished I could just disappear.

"Have a good night?" he asked a smirk in his voice.

I tensed. _Of course I didn't have a good night. You raped me for hours. _"Of course," I replied instead. "I must have slept wrong because my back hurts." I set down my book bag and threw the sheets into the garbage.

There was a knock at the door and I knew it was time for me to go. "Goodbye Father," I said as I grabbed my bag and headed towards the door. He grabbed my arm and turned me around, "Remember, what I did last night will look like a time out if I find you talking to anyone." He glared at me for a second, "Understand?"

I gulped and nodded slowly. He kissed me hard on the mouth before letting me go. I walked outside where my driver waited with the door open. "Good morning Miss Wales," he greeted as I climbed in the car. I nodded my thanks as he shut the door and in no time at all we were off and I was quickly trying to think of a way to tell Alice I couldn't be friends with her anymore.

I arrived at school much too soon and dreaded getting out of the car. _Maybe I should have stayed home._ I shook my head of the thought and climbed out muttering a thanks to Christopher. I saw Alice waving from the front of the school and frowned. I had been hoping that I wouldn't have to see her till later.

I walked up to the school and right past Alice. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her become confused before running to catch up with me. She began to talk non-stop and my heart cried out with every word she said.

"Alice, stop!" I yelled at her. "I don't want to be your friend! Leave me alone!" Leaving a sad looking Alice behind me, I made my way to the office to change my classes. It was for the best really. At least I tried to tell myself that. "I'm sorry Alice," I muttered. "Forgive me."

**Alice POV**

I was so excited to see Onora as she drove up- or her driver drover up- to the school. I began waving as soon as she stepped out of the car. I waited for her to reach the school so we could walk to class together, but she passed me right up. I didn't understand. _Maybe she didn't see me. _I ran to catch up with her and began to talk. After a while she yelled at me.

"Alice, stop! I don't want to be your friend! Leave me alone!" I stopped dead as she continued on her way. I felt so hurt. If I could cry, I would have.

"Alice, what's wrong?" Jasper, who had suddenly come up beside me, asked.

"Onora doesn't want to be my friend." I replied and Jasper took me in his arms. Then I heard it. "I'm sorry Alice. Forgive me." I looked up and saw Onora glancing at me with sadness in her eyes. She looked away when she saw me and turned the corner to the office.

"I don't get it Jazzy," I whispered. "I saw her in my visions. We were supposed to be best friends."

He rubbed my back as he tried to soothe me, "You know your visions aren't set in stone." I began to feel him tampering with my emotions and I calmed down.

Something was up though. Why would Onora tell me she doesn't want to be my friend to apologize? _I'll find out at lunch._

She wasn't in the cafeteria at lunch time. I looked all over for her. "Edward, please can you tell me where she is?" I asked my brother for the fifth time. I even began repeatedly asking in my head hoping to break him down.

"Alice, she wants to be left alone and I think we should honor that," Edward said blatantly. "You should never have made friends with her in the first place."

I stuck my tongue out at him, "You were beginning to like her too."

Edward glared at me and I glared back until Jasper spoke, "I liked her. I liked being able to feel human around her."

I gave my love bear a kiss on the cheek in sympathy. He had the hardest time living as a vegetarian and had seemed happier this past week. He wasn't struggling as much. "You're doing great Jazz. You'll get the hang of it," I replied softly.

After our table was quiet for a few minutes, I concentrated on Onora hoping to get a glimpse into her future. I saw the same vision I had been having of Onora since we decided to come to Forks. Onora sitting on a porch swing with her eyes closed gently rocking back and forth, I was sitting next to her. Then she opened her eyes and the sparkling blue was replaced by red. The vision wavered to a scene in a wooded area. Onora was tied to a tree, covered in blood. A man- her stepfather I guessed- walked up to her with a knife in his hand. He whispered something in her ear that I couldn't hear and then plunged the knife into her heart.

I gasped as I came out of the vision. I looked at Edward whose face probably reflected mine. "What was that Alice?"

I shook my head, "I don't know, but I think she's in trouble."


	6. What? I have to work with them?

**Cerrydwenn: **Thank you for the reviews! I love getting them, they make my day. Here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy and please read and review!

**Disclaimer: **Everyone knows I don't own any of the Twilight characters.

**Edward POV**

It had been two weeks since Onora had yelled at Alice and Alice had the vision. Onora had changed her classes so that she only had music with Rose and me. She never spoke to us even though we were keeping an extra eye on her. I couldn't tell you why I was worried about a human, but I was. I found myself racing to her classes so I could try and talk to her. She would just walk right on by. Alice and Rosalie said she never even acknowledged them during dance class. Rosalie had become protective of the short red head the most. We all knew something was wrong, but we couldn't prove it.

As I watched her, I grew fascinated. When she sang in class, I could feel my heart swell. Sometimes I would close my eyes and picture her sitting in front of me, smiling. Then I would catch and remind myself that a sweet girl like her would never want to be with a monster like me. However, I couldn't help but picture us together. _If only I were human. _

A knock on my door brought me back to reality and I whispered a "Come in." The door opened slowly and Emmett entered. "Jasper and I were thinking of going hunting, wanna come?"

I almost said no, but I hadn't hunted in over a week and I knew my eyes were turning black. "Sure, I'll be down in a minute."

Emmett smiled, "Alright, let's bag some bears."

I laughed as my brother left my room and yelled down at Jasper that I was coming. I realized that taking down some bears and a mountain lion or two would do me some good. _Maybe I can get her out of my head. _I changed into clothes more fitting for chasing animals and made my way downstairs. Alice and Rosalie were just coming in the door when I reached the first floor.

"Hey," I greeted. I wanted to ask them about Onora, but I really needed to get my mind off her.

"She ignored us as usual," Alice supplied as if she could read my mind. "She looked sad, defeated." She went over the couch and plopped down, "I just know something's wrong. We'll have to wait till Monday to see her again though. The sun will be out all weekend." Rosalie bumped past me. She really wanted to go after Onora's step-father, but we had no proof. Carlisle even went and looked in her medical file, but there wasn't anything to hint at her being in trouble. We couldn't really go to the police about it. I can see it now, 'Yes, my vampire sister saw this girl getting murdered in a vision of hers and we just wanted to keep her safe.' That would end up with a one way trip to a very small padded room.

Carlisle and Esme entered the living room and Carlisle added, "Just continue to watch her and offer friendship. Maybe she'll come around one day."

'One day' wasn't enough for me, I wanted her now!

I heard Jasper chuckle, "Edward's in love." _"Edward, control your lust there man." _I turned and growled at him.

"Let's go," I said and started for the door stopping when Esme called my name in her mind.

"_I'm so glad you may have found someone."_

I smiled at Esme, my mother in every way but blood, "Thanks Esme, I just hope she'll like me too."

I waved goodbye and then ran out the door, working at emptying my mind of a blue-eyed girl that haunted my thoughts.

**Onora POV**

I grabbed my books out of my locker and looked around the crowded hallway. I sighed with relief when I saw the Cullens hadn't arrived yet. I could feel them watching me the last two weeks and it was creeping me out. I couldn't even hide in the music room anymore since Edward would follow me there. The rumor around school was that the Cullen's went camping for the weekend. I let out a snort as I pictured Rosalie camping. That was one girl I couldn't picture getting her perfectly manicured nails dirty. I leaned against my locker as I thought about the Cullens. They seemed really weird. They all had topaz eyes, but once in a while their eyes would be black. I tried to ask Alice about it, but she changed the subject. Their skin was also cold as ice, even for people living in Forks. What was even weirder was how they looked like they were having conversations in their heads with each other. I suddenly remembered the Quileute legends I had heard about shortly after I arrived in Forks.

As I made my way to class, I longingly looked out the windows. The sun was out and I would have loved to lounge in the warmth in for a few hours, but I knew that was never going to happen. I yawned as I entered English. I had a really bad nightmare last night and it took me forever to get back to sleep. I shivered as the memory of the nightmare rolled in.

_I was playing in a meadow and the sun was shining. My papa came and scooped me up and we danced to an ABBA song. He was smiling at me and the first time in several years I was truly happy. Suddenly, his face became contorted and I gasped has the evil sneer of my step-father replaced the loving gaze of my father. I tried to run, but his grip on my arms became too tight and I couldn't get away. I wanted to scream, but he pressed his mouth hard down onto mine swallowing any sound I would have made. He pushed me onto the ground and before I could crawl away he was on top on me._

I woke up screaming into my pillow which muffled the sound. At least my mother hadn't heard my screams. The only reason she didn't hit me as much was because He was there to stop her. My step-father was going away on a business trip over the weekend starting tomorrow. Even though I was looking forward to a weekend without Him, I cringed at the thought at what my mother might do having to be alone with me.

The rest of the day went by uneventful, except for a bit more glaring and pushing. My favorite class finally came and it was only two more classes until I was free. I didn't have tutoring that afternoon because my tutor had moved to Seattle. I was actually looking forward to going home since Mother had left for Port Angeles to go shopping and see friends. _Finally, a little alone time for me._ I sat down in my chair and pulled out my journal. I had been working on the lyrics to I song and it was finally coming together. I knew I wasn't supposed to like them, but seeing the Cullen's together made me yearn for somebody to care for me too and helped me write the song.

*"Cause nobody wants to be the last one there,

And everybody wants to feel like someone cares."

I smiled. I felt the chorus was coming along nicely. I heard Miss Sykes tell the class to calm down and I thrust my journal back into my bag.

"Today we will be picking groups for our production," Miss Sykes began after we had all quieted and I felt my heart beat faster. "This will take the place of a midterm, but still counts for 30% of your grade. You can choose to do anything music, so be creative. The whole town will be coming. Don't forget to invite your parents."

I shrugged my shoulders. No one would come to see me. Mather hated that I even existed and I didn't want him coming to any musical production I was in. He would taint my love for music. I was brought out of my thoughts when Miss Sykes said my name.

"Onora, Rosalie, and Edward are in another group…" she continued putting everyone into groups, but I didn't pay attention. All I could think about was trying to find a way out of this. I couldn't be in a group, He would never allow it. I knew if I couldn't get out of the group, He would lock me in the basement. I began to tremble at the thought of being back in the cage. _Maybe I can try to convince her I need to be on my own. I sing better on my own._

I waited until the rest of the students filed out at the end of class to approach her. "Miss Sykes," I began as calmly as I could, "I was wondering if there was anyway I could do this project on my own." I tried to give her my best smile, "With my schedule, it's going to be difficult to meet up with Rosalie and Edward to rehearse anything." _And I don't need another person looking at me with hate in there eyes._

Miss Sykes shook her head, "I'm sorry Onora." The last bell rang and she began to tidy up her classroom. "I need you to be in this group. You are the best singer I've had in my class in years. I knew that if I'd paired you with Edward and Rosalie, you'd be able to help them understand what I'm looking for in this performance."

"Couldn't you just tell them?" I blurted out angrily. I saw Miss Sykes' "I don't put up with sass" look and my gaze went to the floor. "Sorry."

Her gaze softened, "I'll give you a pass to your next class." I sighed and I knew I was lost.

I sat up in my room after school, dreading telling Him what my music teacher was making me do. I heard the front door open and I held my breath. _You have to tell Him. If he thinks you're sneaking behind his back, you'll get it even worse. _Shaking, I slowly opened the door and made my way out to the hallway and down the stairs. I found my step-father sitting in his favorite chair with a smile on his face. It seemed as if he was waiting on me.

"May I talk to you?" I asked, my voice hoarse from my nervousness.

"Of course Onora," he gestured me over. "Why don't you come and sit on my knee?"

I held back a gag as I walked closer. As soon as I was close enough, he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me closer.

"I've been thinking of you all day," he said and began to kiss my neck. "I want to make up for missing you over the weekend early."

"I really need to talk to you," I repeated and prayed it would distract him. "Miss Sykes put me in a group with Edward Cullen and Rosalie Hale."

His hand stopped midway up my shirt, "Did you ask her to be by yourself?"

I nodded, "She said no. And this is 30% of my grade."

He gave me a large, evil smile, "Well, I'll just have to punish you. You really should have tried harder Onora. I am very disappointed in you."

I tried to push away from him, and I fell out of his grasp. My head hit the edge of the couch and everything went black.

I woke up several hours later naked and cold in complete darkness. I was lying on the concrete floor and shivered. It took a few minutes, but my eyes finally adjusted to the darkness and tears began to fall down my cheeks when I realized where I was. I could make out the bars on the cage I was now lying in. I brought my hands close to my face and saw the shackles and chains holding me down to the floor. I shifted, trying to get warm, but pain erupted down my legs.

I couldn't help it now. All the pain from the past few months came out and sobs racked through my body. I was so angry. I was angry at my papa for leaving me alone. I was angry at my mother for never caring. I was angry at the monster I was forced to live with. And I was angry with the Cullens for coming to Forks. _If they hadn't come, I wouldn't be in trouble. _

I didn't know how long it took, but I finally succumbed to my pain and exhaustion and fell asleep.

*The lyrics are to the song "Gotta be Somebody" by Nickelback. Amazing song!


	7. Alright, I'm in a group with vampires

**Cerrydwenn: **Hey everyone! Here is the next chapter. Sorry it took so long, but my schedule is once again quite full. I'm glad people like the story. Please read and review.

**Onora POV**

I shielded my eyes from the bright light that came through the open door at the top of the stairs. "I hope you've learned your lesson Onora," His oily voice called down. He began to walk down the stairs and my heart thudded with each step he took. "I really hate punishing you, but you insist on being a troublemaker and breaking the rules." He finally stopped in front of the cage and bent down to look at me. I covered myself as best I could and tried to scoot away, but I cried out as pain shot up my legs.

He shook his head, "My dear, if you are going to act like that, then I will keep you in there until I get back on Sunday evening." I whimpered at the thought of being stuck in there for any longer.

"That's better," he said and pulled out a key. After unlocking the door and the shackles, he roughly grabbed my arm and pulled me off the floor. I was still in a lot of pain from what ever head done last night and lying on the floor, so I cried out. He shook me, "What have I told you about crying out?" He threw me back onto the floor and I bit my lip to keep making any sounds as my right knee hit the concrete. "Now get up stairs and get dressed. You know how your mother is." He walked away and started up the stairs when he turned, "I already called the school, you caught a cold. Understand?" He waited for my quick nod and then left. At least I didn't have to suffer though school like this.

It took me close to half an hour, but I finally made it to my room. I really wanted a long shower, but I didn't think I could make it to the bathroom. Instead I sat on the edge of my bed and pulled on loose pajamas. I reached into the drawer of my night stand and pulled out a small box that held pain killers I had stolen from my mother a few months ago. I kept my supply stocked just in case. She was usually drunk and never noticed a few pills missing from her bottle; especially since she took more than she should have anyway. I dried swallowed the pills and hoisted myself onto my bed.

As I lay waiting for the pills to kick in, my mind drifted to the Cullens. I couldn't get over the fact that none of them seemed human. Their skin was colder than ice and so smooth. Not even one blemish. What teenager didn't have at least one blemish? They also had the strangest eye color. Their eyes seemed to be gold most of the time, but I could have sworn their eyes were black once. I had noticed that they didn't talk like teenagers, at least not teenagers from the 21st century.

I had heard the Quileute stories about monsters with cold skin and red eyes. Monsters that killed humans and drank their blood. Monsters the Quileute called the cold ones. Vampires. _Could they really be vampires? _I didn't really know what to think. _Would a vampire, if they exist, catch someone like me? _A small smile crept at the corners at my mouth as I remembered what it felt like to be in Edward's arms, even it was only for a few seconds. It felt like someone had actually cared. _Stop it Onora, you're actually beginning to think someone would care for you. And anyways if it wasn't for them, you wouldn't have spent a night in the basement, _ I couldn't help it though; I let my mind fill with thoughts of being in Edward's arms as the pills took affect and my closed.

"What are you doing down here?" my mother shouted as she slapped me across the face. "You know I never want to see your ugly face!"

It was Saturday morning and I had finally recovered enough to get out of bed. I had spent the whole day in bed the day before and now I really wanted to get out. "I'm sorry Mother," I said as I held my now bruised cheek. "I'm stupid and forget. I'll try better next time."

Mother only grabbed her vodka bottle and turned to walk away muttering to herself. I quickly gathered some food for lunch since I was going to be gone all day and ran out the door. I used to go on long walks all the time when I was in Ireland but with Him watching my every step I couldn't really do it anymore.

As I started walking the woods, my thoughts once again turned towards the Cullens. I didn't really believe that they were vampires, but I knew they couldn't be human. "Well just stay away from them," I told myself. "If you don't go near them, then you won't have any reason to fear them." _Then why are they watching me? _It was weird, none of them even seemed angry over what I had done to Alice. They always said hi to me when I saw them at school and Alice and Rosalie tried to get spots next to me in dance class.

I tripped and grabbed onto a tree to keep me from hitting the ground. I was brought back to reality and groaned when I noticed I was lost. "You shouldn't have gone walking in the woods," I grumbled but kept on walking. I hoped maybe I could find a house or building and use that to get back to town.

After a few minutes, I came into a clearing and saw a large white house towering over me. "It's beautiful," I whispered.

"What are you doing here?" a voice behind me asked suddenly and I turned to see Him. I screamed and fell to the ground. 

**Edward's POV**

I walked around the house in a daze. Since the sun hadn't been out yesterday, we all went back to school. I was hoping to see a certain little red head, but I couldn't find her anywhere. I kept annoying Jasper with my feelings since yesterday morning. It was now Saturday and I knew I wouldn't see her until at least Monday.

"Edward please," my brother begged, "your emotions are driving me insane."

I turned on him and growled, "What, you're not worried about her Jasper? We knew something was going to happen, what if it already did?"

Alice came up in front of me and pushed me on the couch, "Edward, we'll all worried about her, but fighting like this won't help her."

"_Then why are they watching me?" _I heard Onora think and I smiled. "She's near. She's okay." I wanted to see her, but I had to settle with knowing she wasn't hurt. Our house suddenly filled her thoughts when I heard Emmett ask, "What are you doing here?" and a piercing scream fill the air.

The rest of my family and I ran out to see Emmett holding Onora. "What happened?" Carlisle asked calmly. I went and picked up a small bag lying on the ground. I could plainly smell food coming from the inside.

"I saw her and asked what she was doing and she screamed and fainted." Emmett replied quickly. "I didn't mean to scare her." I knew Emmett never meant to scare people, so I didn't blame him for what happened.

"Bring her into the house," Carlisle said and made his way back to the house. "I can look after her in there."

Emmett carried her inside and set her down on the couch.

"She's as beautiful as you've said," Esme commented as she placed a pillow under Onora's head.

"At least she's okay," I heard Rosalie sigh. I had to give my sister credit, she usually hated humans and here she was worrying about one.

Carlisle knelt down next to the small girl, "She has a medium sized bruise on her face. I wonder where that came from." He looked at Emmett who shook his head and put his hands up, "Don't look at me, I only caught her."

Carlisle rubbed a hand on the bruise making Onora wake up. _"Oh no!" _she thought and jumped up to stand on the couch. She pointed at Carlisle, "You have cold skin and gold eyes like them," she said pointing at me and my siblings. "You're not human!"

_Oh great, she found us out. Time to move again. _"I'll start packing," I said quietly so only my family would hear. Carlisle held his hand up at me, _"Hold on." _He then held out his hand to Onora, "I'm Carlisle Cullen, why don't you sit down and I'll explain everything." When she didn't grab his hand he added, "We're not going to hurt you."

"_Should I trust him?" _I heard her ask herself. After hesitating another moment, she grabbed his hand and he helped her down. She sat down and looked at Carlisle expectantly.

"First, I'm going to make sure you're okay," he began and held up three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

She rolled her eyes and I couldn't help but smile. "Three. So, if you're not human then what are you?"

Carlisle let out a small laugh, "You have a nasty bruise on your cheek? Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"

"_Oh crap!" _She shook her head, "It was from a fall I had on Thursday. I was practicing dancing and lost my footing. I hit the wall and la di da a bruise."

I held in a growl. I knew she was lying.

"So what are you?" She asked again, a little eager.

I turned away. I knew when she found out what we were she would run from the house screaming. I saw Alice out of the corner of my eye walk over to the couch and sit next to Onora.

"Sweetie," Esme called, "could I get you anything?" Onora looked over at Esme shocked. _"She acts like she cares." _

"How about some tea?" Alice suggested. "It's getting cooler and it could warm you up."

Onora nodded at Esme, still a little shocked. I struggled to keep myself from going over to the couch and holding her in my arms. There was nothing more I wanted to do than to show her that I cared for her. But now was not the time for that. Anyways, what sweet girl like Onora would want to be held like a monster like me?

Esme left the room to make the tea and Carlisle took the empty seat next to Onora. "Onora, now please remain calm," he asked of her and she nodded. "Onora, my family and I are vampires." I was surprised he just went out and said it. I had thought he would have eased into it a bit more.

"The Quileute legends," Onora mumbled her eyes wide with shock. "I guess I was wrong. A vampire will really catch a girl from falling." I turned to hide my smirk.

Carlisle nodded with a small smile, "Yes, the Quileute tribe has had contact with our kind before and are hostile to most vampires. However we have a treaty with them."

"Why?" she suddenly asked as she leaned forward.

"We don't drink human blood," Carlisle replied. "Nor do we harm them."

"Why?" Onora asked again and my smile grew larger as I realized where she was going. I looked around at my siblings who all seemed to be smiling too. Jasper was smiling the most since being around Onora made him forget about his thirst.

"We don't like to kill humans so we drink animal blood instead," Carlisle said as Esme walked out of the kitchen with the tea. She set it down in front of Onora who picked it up and took a sip. _"Yum, black tea with a hint of mint." _

She smiled her thanks at Esme and then turned her attention back to Carlisle. "Why?"

I heard Alice begin to laugh and then one by one the rest of us joined in. _"I'm so stupid. I knew I should've stayed home. Please stop laughing at me!" _

"I'm sorry," she said sadly. She cringed when she noticed she was losing control of her accent. "Thank you for the tea. I'll let myself out." She set the tea down and stood to leave.

"Please don't," Alice begged and ran to stop her. Onora jumped when Alice appeared next to her. "I'm sorry, please stay. We didn't mean to hurt you."

Onora looked around. We had all stopped laughing were watching her expectantly. She saw Emmett and wrapped her arms around her chest, as if trying to protect herself. _Dr. Cullen says they may not hunt humans, but what's to stop the big one from coming after me? What's to stop any of them from telling?_

"We're not going to hurt you," I spoke up and once again I found myself looking into those deep blue eyes. "You can trust us. And we won't tell anyone you were here either." I didn't know what I was doing. A part of me wanted her to stay so I could protect her and lover her for eternity. The other part of me wanted her to realize the monster I was and run away.

"_I want to trust him…" _Onora let the thought hang. She calmed down and walked back to the couch. "I would have thought that after how I treated you the past few weeks, you guys would hate me."

"Well, we figured that you would run screaming from the house when you learned we were vampires," Emmett called from the other side of the room.

For the first time, Onora gave a small chuckle to Emmett, "As my papa always said, 'You may look little, but you sure are one big surprise.'" She said it with a thick accent and I swear I felt my stomach give a little flip.

"We were curious," Alice replied softly as she walked over and sat on the table in front of Onora. "I couldn't remember doing anything wrong."

Onora shook her head, "No, no, no. I really wanted to be friends with you, but I couldn't. My step-father forbids it." She looked around again with a pained expression on her face. _"Should I tell them?" _I sat up a little straighter. Was she finally going to tell us the truth? _Does she know we can help her?_ My family's thoughts suddenly became quite loud.

Rosalie was hoping that Onora was going to tell the truth about her step-father. Jasper just wanted Onora to stay as long as possible. I was surprised to find that if it was possible, he wanted Onora to live with us. I found myself agreeing with him. Emmett was happy that she had smiled at him and was thinking of some pranks to pull on her. I made a note to myself to stop him. Esme was already thinking of her as a daughter and was so happy that I had found someone. Carlisle's compassion for the girl was growing and he felt that Onora was a good match for me. Part of me disagreed; the other part of me rejoiced that my parents approved of her. Alice was thinking of things she and Onora could do together. She lost control of her thoughts for a second and she remembered a vision she had. Onora was sitting high on a tree branch with her eyes closed. When she opened them, they were blood red.

"No!" I shouted and everyone looked at. I rounded on Alice, "That's not going to happen!"

She stood up and glared, "I've seen it Edward. And don't tell me you don't want it to happen too." She raised her voice with every word.

"Just because you've seen it doesn't mean it's going to happen!" I yelled back.

"Stop!" We all turned and saw Onora bent over on the couch covering her ears. "Please stop yelling."

Esme, who had taken Alice's place, put an arm around the small girl, "You two should be ashamed. Acting like three-year-olds and scaring our guest is highly inappropriate for ones your age." Onora sat back up and uncovered her ears. She looked at Esme with am expression that was between shock and adoration. _"Why couldn't she have been my mother?" _I thought it a bit ironic when I heard her thoughts since Esme wanted to be her mother.

"Sorry Onora," Alice apologized. "Edward's just being stubborn about something." She turned around to glare at me again before continuing, "So, your step-father forbids you from having friends? Why? It seems stupid to not allow you to have any friends."

Here it was. Onora was finally going to tell us what was going on and we were going to be able to protect her.

"Well you see," she began quietly and if it hadn't been for my vampire hearing, I wouldn't have heard her. "My step-father is very protective of me. Actually, he's like a father to me since my own papa died three years ago. W-we're really close. He feels that the people here would be a bad influence on me, so he forbade me from having any friends. He does know what's best for me after all."

I suppressed a snort. _Right, they're close. Close enough for him to stab her in the heart._

"Well, we can secret friends then," Alice suggested. "And since I can see the future, I can tell if your father is suspicious of us or not."

Onora's eyes widened, "You can see the future?"

"Some of us have special gifts," Carlisle replied. "Alice can see the future, Jasper is an empath, and Edward can read minds."

Onora's eyes suddenly filled with fear, _"He can read minds? Does he know? He can't know. If he knew he wouldn't want to be in the same room as me." _

If only she would admit that was something was wrong. _Maybe _

"Oh no!" Onora shouted as she looked at the clock on the wall. "It's late, I gotta get home." She picked up her bag and headed toward the door. "Oh, wait," she stopped and turned toward me, "You, me and Rosalie are in a group in music class. See you all Monday." I rose to stop her, but Jasper held me back. "Now's not the time, she has to come to us." Onora waved goodbye and ran out the door.

**Cerrydwenn**: Well, I hoped you enjoyed it. I'm going to try and get out a chapter a month. Please review. Reviews make me happy and want to write more.


	8. The pixie, the dance, and the vampire

**Cerrydwenn: **Here's the next chapter. I made it extra long since it's been awhile since my last update. I hope you like it and please review. I like reviews.

**Edward's POV**

After she ran out the door, Jasper let me go and I rounded on Alice. "She is not becoming a vampire!"

Alice growled at me, "It's either that or she dies and I saw her becoming a vampire before that monster of her step-father stabbed her in the heart!"

"Well, just because you have seen it doesn't mean it is going to happen," I growled back. "I will do everything I can to make sure neither of those visions come true."

Carlisle stepped forward, "There's not much we can do if she doesn't come to us either." He let out a sigh, "We don't really have any physical proof that there is anything going on in her house anyway."

I hands balled into fists, "I'll think of something." I could feel waves of calm coming from Jasper, "Thanks Jasper." I knew getting angry wouldn't help the girl I loved. _Love? No, it can't be love. _My mind suddenly filled with her smiling face. _Alright, I'm in love. _"I'm in love with a human."

"Ha!" Emmett suddenly laughed, "I knew it!" He began to sing the song "Edward and Onora sitting in a tree" and doing a little dance.

"Emmett, if you don't stop right now," I demanded, "I will record you and post it on YouTube."

**Onora's POV**

I quietly snuck into the house. I didn't want a repeat of this morning and another bruise to explain. I tiptoed over to the stairs and cringed when my stomach grumbled. _Right, I wasn't able to eat today. _Instead of turning toward the kitchen and risking another run-in with my mother, I made my way to my room. Stopping long enough to make sure she wasn't roaming the halls. The only good thing about having the monster at home was that he kept her from hitting me. However, I would rather face a punch than a night with him.

I finally made it to my room and my stomach grumbled again. I realized I had left the food I had gathered at the Cullen's. I had learned years ago though to keep a stock of food in my closet in case of situations like this. I walked into my closet and moved some boxes around until I found my stash of granola bars and fruit snacks. _It's not gourmet, but at least I'm not going hungry. _I hid my stash and walked over to my bed to eat my "dinner."

After I had finished, I decided to do some homework; especially since I was forced to miss school because of that monster. I grabbed my backpack and sat down at my desk. _If only I could leave this place. _I remembered what it felt like to be with the Cullen's. It almost felt like home. _Like I could ever be a part of their family. Even vampires have standards. _I groaned and threw my stuff across the room. I couldn't develop feelings for them. It was their fault my step-father kept hurting me. It was their fault I was locked up in the basement. Everything was their fault.

_Stop lying to yourself Onora! It's your fault all this stuff happens. Maybe if I had been better has a child Mother would have stayed and we would all be back in Ireland. Maybe if I hadn't been born at all. Maybe if I had born with Esme as a mother. _

I lay down on my bed and curled into a ball as I imagined Edward's arms around me. _At least in my mind he loves me. I just can't believe I'm falling for him._

The next week went by and Halloween was quickly approaching. This meant that the Halloween Ball, hosted by the cheerleaders, was coming up and it was anyone could talk about. I really wanted to go, but he would never let me out of the house. I couldn't help but dream of showing up in a beautiful dress and dancing with a golden eyed vampire. _Stop it Onora! Even if you could go to the dance, Edward would never want to dance with you._

"Hey Onora!" I jumped when Alice appeared in front of me. "How are you?"

"Alice, you scared her," Jasper chided. "Sorry about that, she's always really excited in the morning."

"I gotta go," I said and pushed through them. I had to get away, if my step-father found out I'd be in big trouble. I stomped my way to music and threw my stuff down next to my seat. I frowned when I noticed both Edward and Rosalie coming closer. Part of me was going "Eeeeee! Edward wants to sit next to me!" Another part of me was groaning because I knew if He found out I was hanging out with the Cullens then I'd probably be locked up in the basement again. _Why can't they go sit somewhere else?_

"We saw that the other students were gathering in their groups," Edward said, "so we thought the most logical thing would be for us to sit together." I gave him a very confused look. "I can read minds, remember?"

"Well, just stay out of my head," I whispered angrily. If he was in my head, he might learn what He was doing to me and then I'd really get it. At least it would it make Edward and the others to stay away.

Miss Sykes entered then and everyone stopped talking. "Good afternoon class. I hope all the groups have picked the pieces you are going to perform at the end of the semester."

_Oh no! If we don't have our pieces today, we'll get a zero. I've never gotten a zero in Music!_

"Now Onora, Edward, and Rosalie," Miss Sykes called after what felt like an eternity, "do you three have your piece picked out yet?"

I opened my mouth to confess, but Edward answered first. "We were hoping to do the song 'For Good' from the musical _Wicked_," he gestured to both me and Rosalie, "Rosalie would do the part of Glinda while Onora sang the part of Elphaba and I played the piano."

"I love that musical," Miss Sykes exclaimed. "Alright that seems to be all the groups. For the rest of the class, I want you to practice. I am looking forward to see some great pieces this semester."

All the other students went off into different corners to practice, but I stayed where I was. I couldn't be seen with them. He would find out and lock me in the basement again. I glanced down and noticed my hands were shaking. I tried to control it, but the trembles passed through my body.

"Are you okay Onora?" I looked up into Rose's concerned eyes. "You're shaking, is there something we can get you?"

I shook my head and tried to stand up, but I fell backwards into my seat. "I'm fine, I just skipped lunch. I was trying to work on homework."

_Please just go away! Someone will tell Him and he'll hurt me again!_

"Why don't we skip practice today?" Edward suggested. "Here, I have an apple left over from lunch." He bent down and reached into his bag and pulled out an apple. He handed it to me and I mumbled my thanks. I ate it slowly, hoping to pass the last few minutes in class so I could get out of there. Finally the bell rang and I gathered my stuff and was the first out of the room.

By the time school ended, I had my trembling under control. Since it was Friday, I had dance class, but I didn't feel like going. "Could I just go home please?" Christopher looked at me weird for a second, "Of course Miss Wales. I hope you're feeling well."

"I'm just tired."

I paced my room for a whole hour trying to figure out how to tell my step-father that I had to study with the Cullens. I couldn't keep living in fear especially since we had to work together. I looked out my window and watched him pull into the driveway. I prayed he wasn't angry because I skipped dance class. I had lucked out because Mother wasn't home, so I knew she hadn't called him complaining about me.

I took a deep breath and braced myself before leaving my room. "Hello Father," I greeted when I met him in the living room, "how was your day?"

He hung up his coat and smiled at me, "It was good. I was upset to hear you weren't feeling well. I've been worried about you all afternoon."

I shook my head, "It was nothing. I was just tired. I haven't been getting enough sleep." _Because you've been keeping me up every night so you can rape me. _"I was wondering if I could talk to you about something."

"Of course," I could see the evil creeping into his eyes. "Then how about we make dinner? I'm craving something sweet."

I nodded my head slowly, "I was just wondering if maybe I could study with Edward and Rosalie. You see, we're in the same group in Music and we need to practice together or we'll all fail."

"Ah yes," he commented as he walked towards me, "you mentioned something about it before." He finally reached me and caressed my face, "You're so soft and I've been aching to see you all day." His hand left my face and travelled down to my chest. "Since you've been good, I'll give you permission to study with them." His hand came back up and roughly grabbed my chin, "Just remember, that if you're bad, I'll lock you in the basement for a week. His mouth came down hard on mine and I groaned from the pain. "Just let that be a reminder." He pushed me to the floor and walked away. "I'll be back, I still want something sweet."

Later that night I used my free hand- my other hand was still tied to the bed and I needed a knife so I could get loose- to call Alice. I only had her number because she took my phone from me one day and programmed it in. For some reason I couldn't make myself delete it.

"Hello?" Alice's perky voice greeted. I opened my mouth to reply, but nothing came out. "Hello?" she greeted again. "Onora I know it's you is something wrong?"

"Umm no," I finally answered. "I just needed to talk to Rosalie, is she available?"

"Oh sure." "Hey Onora, what's up?"

I took a deep breath trying to sound as normal as I could, "I just wanted to let you know that my step-father has given me permission to practice with you and Edward after school."

"Oh great," Rose exclaimed, "What days are good for you?"

"Tuesdays and Thursdays are free for me right now," I replied hoping she wouldn't ask me why.

"That sounds good," she said a bit too cheerfully. "I'll tell Edward and I'll see you on Monday."

I said goodbye and hung up the phone. I sighed as I looked at my arm tied to the bed, "One problem down, so many more to go."

Tuesday came and I was standing out front of the school waiting for the Cullens. I had been able to convince Him, that Edward could give me a ride to their house.

"Ready to go," Edward and Rose walked up.

I nodded my head and followed them to their car. "Where are the others?"

"Alice drove Jasper and Emmett to school in her car," Rosalie replied and pointed to a yellow Porsche across the parking lot. "We like fast cars."

"And apparently super expensive ones as well," I smiled as Edward opened the door and gestured to me to get in. At first I looked a little surprised, (I mean what kind of guy would do that for me?) but I recovered and slid into the back. Within moments we were racing out of the parking lot. Edward was going really fast, but I didn't mind. I felt free, like I could run from the problems facing me at home.

We made it to the house and I groaned, "Can't we drive a little longer?" I wanted the freedom to last a little longer.

Alice and the others were getting out of Alice's car and heard my question and laughed. "How about one day I take you for a ride around Washington?"

I vigorously nodded my head, "And I'm taking all you guys with me when I get a car 'cuz I want a fast one too. A really fast one." I blushed at my comment. I couldn't believe I was becoming so open with these people.

"You know," Edward commented, "You're cute when you blush. I'll have to find ways to make you blush more often."

Of course my blush deepened, "How about we just go practice now?"

A few hours later I was sitting next to my window with my arms around my legs. I should have felt relieved that I was at "home" and my step-father hadn't found any reason to punish me. However, I found myself wishing I was back with the Cullens. I was actually having a good time and even talked with Emmett for a minute. He wasn't as bad as I thought and I was actually starting to like him. And Esme… she had made chocolate chip cookies since I was coming over. She actually made something for me. _Onora Cedhyl Wales Cullen. It has a nice ring to it. But it will never happen. _

I smiled as I remembered how beautiful Edward played the piano. He and Rosalie made a great musical pair. I thought I was taking away from the performance, but Edward told me I made his heart beat again whenever I sang. The compliment gave me a warm feeling and it did feel good to be able to sing freely, even if the compliment was a little weird. _Stop feeling like this girl! Get with reality! Just go to bed and forget all about the Cullens. _I stretched and made my way over to my bed yearning for the morning so I could see them again.

Friday night came and the dance was on everyone's lips. Who was going, who was wearing what, and who was destined to be voted queen. I tried to hide my disappointment that I wouldn't be going; I wasn't allowed. Alice and the others were going and Alice nearly screamed when she found out I wasn't going. When she asked why, I lied and said I had homework. For some reason it didn't appease her. She kept giving me weird looks every time I saw her in the hallway.

I finally got home and had resigned to myself to what it would have been like to dance with Edward. When I entered the house, I found it empty and a note from Him telling me that he was taking my mother out to an executive dinner and would be back after midnight. _At least I have some time to myself. _I made my way to the kitchen, itching for a snack, when someone knocked at the door. _You'd think in a small town there would be less sales people. _I opened the door and gasped when I saw Alice holding a garment bag.

"Well, are you ready?" she asked as she pushed past me into the living room.

"Ready for what?" I asked even though I knew the answer.

"Ready for me to get you dressed up for the dance."

"Alice!" I called as I had climbed out of the shower. "I can't go to the dance! People will recognize me and my step-father will find out!"

Alice suddenly popped in front of me, "Don't worry, I also have a mask for you." She shook her head, "It is a Halloween ball after all." She grabbed my arm and dragged me into my room where she then pushed me down in front of my mirror. "Now for your hair and make-up." She made small talk with me as she brushed my hair and put it up leaving some ringlets free to bounce around my face. She quickly did my make-up and then forced me into my dress. I turned toward my full length mirror and stood mesmerized. I barely recognized myself. My dress was a royal blue one shoulder number that had intricate designs of appliqué beads that went all the way to the floor.

"Wow," was all I could say.

"I knew you'd like it," Alice squealed. "Now I have to get ready real quick. She began to walk out of the room and then turned back to me, "Don't move." I nodded my head at her before turning back to my reflection, still amazed at the work Alice had done.

A few minutes later, Alice walked back in wearing a yellow halter empire waist dress. "You look gorgeous!"

"Edward's eyes aren't going to pop out of his sockets when he sees me though," Alice commented and thrust shoes into my hand. "Put these on, it's almost time to leave."

I slipped on the four inch heels she had handed me and then we rushed down the stairs and into Alice's Porsche. We made it to the school in a matter of seconds and my heart was threatening to burst through my chest. "Alice, I don't think I can do this."

"Of course you can." She replied and handed me a white mask. "Now put this on and let's get inside. I didn't go through all this just so you can brood the whole night." She climbed out of the car and walked over to the passenger side, "Let's go."

I put on the mask and stepped out of the car, "Remember Alice, I have to be home before midnight."

She waved me off, "I know. We'll leave about fifteen till." She then locked arms with me and we entered the gym… or what used to be the gym. It was covered in streamers and balloons of the school colors and tables were stationed around in a large circle with an empty area in the middle I had guessed was the dance floor.

Alice led me to a table and I finally noticed Jasper who had stood to greet Alice. "Hey Onora," he whispered in my ear. Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett joined us and they all greeted me quietly. I was super thankful they were keeping my presence a secret. After a few moments, Jasper asked Alice to dance and Rosalie pulled Emmett onto the dance floor. I was silently wishing Edward would ask me to dance, but he never moved. Finally, another boy, one from my science class, came up and asked me to dance. When I got back to the table, Edward seemed even more distant. Throughout the night, I was asked to dance by other guys from school and was having so much fun, but I really wanted to dance with the bronze eyed vampire. After one dance as I making my way back to the table I saw Edward and Alice arguing. I didn't want to interrupt, so I stayed back until they were done. However, as I was walking towards the table, Edward was walking towards me.

"Would you like to dance?" Edward asked stiffly and held out his hand.

_So he's only asking me because Alice told him to. That's what they were arguing about._

"That's not true," Edward said appalled. "I was too nervous to ask you. Alice gave me the courage."

I smirked at him, but put my hand in his anyway and he led me outside. Another song had started and Edward twirled me out onto the sidewalk.

"I like this song," I said as I recognized the lyrics and began to hum the music to "I knew I loved you."

Edward pulled me closer and put his hands around my waist, "You look beautiful."

I blushed and put my arms around his neck, "Only thanks to Alice's magic hands."

"You always look beautiful," he replied. "I can't stop looking into your eyes."

My blush deepened, "Thanks." _He thinks I'm beautiful! And all you can say is thanks!_

Edward chuckled, "Even make-up can't hide your blush. It makes me want to kiss you."

For some reason, I wanted him to kiss me too. _Then kiss me. _He lowered his head and our lips were about to touch…

"Onora!" Alice called and we jumped apart. "Come on, it's almost midnight!" My heart began to race and I waved goodbye to Edward. As I was running to the car, the strap on my shoe broke and it fell off. I turned to get it, but Alice growled there wasn't time and we had to go. We made back to my house in record time and I gave Alice a hasty goodbye before entering my house. I quickly ran to my room and changed into some pajamas. I made sure to hide the dress in my closet and then jumped into my bed just as my bedroom door was opening. I pretended to be asleep as He checked on me, but when he closed the door, I could barely contain my squeal. _I danced and almost kissed Edward! I'll have to find a way to thank Alice and then kill her. _I fell asleep humming the song "I knew I loved you."


	9. Pregnant and in love What am I doing?

**Cerrydwenn: **Here's the next chapter! I am finally inspired to write again! I hope you all enjoy it and please review! Also, if you guys wanted to see a picture of Onora's dress (and yes, there was a Cinderella reference) from the previous chapter, the link is on my profile. And there's a poll on whether Onora should keep the baby or not so check it out! And remember to review!

**Edward's POV**

I watched as both Alice and Onora raced to the car. I started forward when Onora lost her shoe, but after a second of hesitation, she continued toward the car. I made my over to the lost shoe and picked it up. I could still make out Onora's scent; strawberries and bit of oranges. I was never going to give up that shoe. My other siblings came out of the gym and looked around confused.

"What happened to Onora?" Jasper asked, "I was going to ask her dance after you did, but you took all night."

Emmett began to laugh, "Awww, was little ickkle Eddiekins scared of asking Red to dance?"

"Shut up Emmett," I warned my brother. "And Red?"

Emmett's smile became larger, "It's Onora's nickname, cuz all the red hair." He looked around expectantly, "So, where is she? I wanted to see her reaction to the nickname."

I shrugged, "Alice took her home. I guess she had a curfew." My disappointment was keen. I was having a great time dancing with Onora; I didn't want it to end. If only I had asked her to dance earlier.

"I'm sorry Edward," Jasper commented. "You'll be able to see her again though."

I nodded and looked forward to school for the first time since I became a vampire.

Monday morning I waited outside for Onora and smiled when I saw her car drive up into the parking lot. When it stopped in front of the school, I didn't give her driver to get out of the car and instead ran to the car and opened Onora's door. I held out my hand and she rewarded me with one of her rare smiles.

"I hadn't realized that the school had hired a doorman," she said as she grabbed my hand and climbed out of the car. "Thank you kind sir." She hefted her bag onto her shoulder and made her way into the school. _"Meet me in the music room during lunch."_

I nearly jumped for joy, but years of learning control kept me from making a fool of myself. She wanted to meet me. _I just hope I won't be getting her in trouble. _

"Oooh, " Alice cooed behind me, "A secret lunch date." I glared at her. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I wonder what made her take such a risk though." She closed her mind and thought for a moment, "Oh, maybe she loves you!"

"Will you keep it down?" I growled as I started to walk to class. "You know that if her step-father finds out it could lead to him killing her."

"Don't worry," the little pixie reassured me. "I'm keeping tabs on her. All I see is dance classes. There is one part that does come out a bit fuzzy, but everyday it becomes a little clearer." She started to turn down another hallway, "I'll let you know as soon as I see something."

I thanked her and made it class just as the bell rang. I spent the whole class wondering what Onora was doing. Finally, I couldn't help myself and I read her thoughts. _"Ugh, stupid science. I am so going to fail. What are the steps for photosynthesis? I don't know. What am I going to do?" _It sounded like she was struggling with the bio test we had today. _Poor girl, maybe I can help her._

**Onora's POV**

I nearly chewed my pencil to the core as I tried to remember everything that Mr. Banner had said on photosynthesis. I knew I was going to fail and if I failed one more test, my dance lessons would be canceled. _What am I going to do? _Finally the bell rang and I handed my test in with a heavy heart. _There go my dance lessons. _

I spent the rest of the morning trying to concentrate, but my mind kept wondering to lunch. _I can't believe I invited him to lunch. But I really want to talk to him. But is it worth the risk of Him finding out? _The bell rang and I jumped out of my seat and ran to the music room. I didn't want to waste one moment with Edward. I entered the classroom and noticed I was the first one there. I was a little glad because it gave me a chance to get my thoughts in order. By the time I had my lunch out and was sitting down to eat, Edward entered.

He sat down beside me and gave me a crooked grin. "Well that looks delicious."

I laughed and looked down at my measly lunch of a ham sandwich, an apple and a bottle of water, "What I really want is some Irish Stew. I haven't had that in years." I was a little nervous to eat though, but I was starving. I woke up feeling very nauseous, so I skipped breakfast. I was nervous because I didn't want to feel sick again.

"I'll tell Esme," he replied, "she'll love cooking for you on one of the days you come over to rehearse."

I shook my head, embarrassed over the attention, "She doesn't have to do that. I don't want to cause trouble."

"You'll have to learn that we all enjoy taking care of you," Edward said. "We care about you." I took a bite of my sandwich to keep from replying and hoped that my face wasn't that red. I didn't understand why anyone would care or want to take care of me. I finished my lunch in a few minutes and took a drink from my water bottle.

"So," Edward began, "is there something you wanted to talk about?"

I hesitated, wanting to get the right words out. "We almost kissed at the dance on Friday."

"Yes we did," Edward replied, "until Alice interrupted us." He looked into my eyes, "Did you want to kiss?"

I shook my head, "I do, but we can't. I realized I don't anything about you besides you being a vampire who doesn't drink human blood and your bad taste in music."

Edward laughed and my heart melted, "Bad? If I remember correctly you were dancing to this so called bad music in my car the other day."

"That doesn't mean I liked it," I retorted as I laughed along with him. "Who's to say I wasn't trying to make you feel better about your bad taste in music?" I shook my head, "Don't worry, I'll have you listening to good music soon. I just have to get you to admit you have a problem."

We spent the next half hour laughing and sharing stories about ourselves. I didn't know what to say when Edward revealed Emmett's nickname for me. My feelings were a mixture of embarrassment and a bit of annoyance. I mean he really couldn't have come up with something better than Red? I, of course, left out what was currently going on in my life. I did get the feeling that Edward was hiding something from me, but I didn't press him. We both looked up when someone entered the classroom and saw Rose walk in.

"Well this looks cozy," she commented as she sat down next to us. "Just so you guys know, it's almost time for class."

I gasped and looked at the clock that hung at the front of the class. I didn't lunch had gone by so fast. I was just having so much fun, I wasn't paying attention. I hastily cleaned up my mess and plopped my stuff down in my regular seat. "Thanks Rose," I called just as the other students entered the classroom. Class went by as usual. Edward and Rose only talked to me when they had to. I was super grateful they were keeping our friendship a secret. I didn't want to be locked in the basement again. Not unless I was dead.

After school ended, I was waiting for my driver when Edward approached me. "Hey Onora, I wanted to ask you something." I stiffened. "I was wondering if you needed help with any of your classes."

I shrugged, "Maybe, I don't know." Great, now he knew I was stupid.

"Well, I wanted to offer to help," Edward said quietly, "you know if you needed it."

I grinned at him, "Thanks, that'd be great." My driver drove up then and I gave him a small wave and got in. As we were leaving, I turned around to look behind me and blushed when I saw Edward was still watching me, a huge smile on his face. _Maybe he does care about me._

Over the next few days, I kept waking up feeling sick. I was really getting worried. Getting sick meant missing more school and I was already at my limit for absences. I really didn't want to have to retake this semester. I was too scared to eat and when I did, I only threw it up. I was starting to lose weight and my clothes stopped fitting. I really wish all of it would go away. I knew that the Cullens were concerned since whenever I went over to their house, Esme would cook enough for an army and expect me to eat it all just for me to throw it all up the next morning. What really scared me though was that I was a week late on my period and that monster never used protection and refused to get me any birth control.

"Are you feeling alright Onora?" Alice asked me as we drove to their house. Edward had driven home with the others, so I got to ride in the Porsche.

"Wha-? Yeah, I'm fine." I replied a bit distracted. _Oh God, what if I'm really pregnant? _I turned toward Alice, "Can we stop at the drug store? I want to get the medicine Dr. Cullen suggested. You know, for the nausea?"

"Sure," she agreed and after a few moments she pulled into the nearest drugstore. "I hope this works; we're really getting worried about you."

"It's nothing," I tried to reassure her as much as myself. "It's probably just a bug or something I ate." _Please be something I ate. _I ran into the drugstore and picked up the medication and hurriedly grabbed a pregnancy test. After paying with the lunch money I'd saved, I ran back out to the car and climbed in. "Thanks Alice," I said, "I'm ready." We rode the rest of the way in silence.

When we reached the house, I instantly jumped out of the car and bounded into the house. Esme was at the door to greet me, but I passed right by her with a shout of "Bathroom!" over my shoulder throwing my backpack on the floor at the base of the stairs. I didn't care what the others thought of me, I just wanted to get this over with. I finally made it to the bathroom and I locked the door. I figured that a locked door wouldn't keep a vampire out, but I felt it gave me more privacy.

I took out the test and silently read the directions. I nearly groaned when it said "For best results take test in morning." Well, I wasn't really looking for the best results, just results. After anxiously waiting the allotted time, I peeked at the test and sunk to the floor. There was a plus sign. I was pregnant.

**Rose POV**

I walked into the house disappointed. I really wanted to get a chance to talk to Onora alone, but either Edward or Alice was always with her. _Next time I'll drive her home. I know something is wrong and I'll get her to admit it._

"Rose, leave the girl alone," Edward patronized me making me send a glare his way. "We decided we would let her come to us."

I growled at him, "And what if she dies before she comes to us. If you haven't noticed, she's been feeling sick for the past week and losing weight. Maybe we need to step in." I wanted to yell, but Alice pulled up then and I kept my thoughts to myself. Well myself and Edward. Hey, it wasn't my fault he could read minds.

I smiled when Onora ran into the house but she didn't stop and ran all the way to the bathroom. I glared at Edward again. _Told you so._

"She's really nervous," Jasper said, concern in is voice.

"That's because she's taking a pregnancy test," Edward nearly roared and I gasped. _She's pregnant? _"She doesn't know yet, she's waiting." I began to pace, a human thing I had practiced and perfected years ago, as I waited. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Edward sadly revealed, "She's pregnant."

Before anyone could stop me, I ran vampire speed up the stairs to the bathroom. I hesitated a moment before knocking, "Onora, sweetie, it's Rose," I waited for an answer, but none came. "Can I come in?" Without waiting for an answer this time, I tried the door and found it locked. "Onora, please I can help you." The door opened and a red eyed Onora peeked her head out.

"How can you help?" she asked as tears ran down her cheek. "He's going to kill me."

I held out my hand, "I can help you. We know about your step-father?"

She looked taken aback for a second and then relieved, "You do?'

I nodded, "And we can help you. Just take my hand so we can talk to Carlisle downstairs."

She grabbed my hand and I led her downstairs where my family was waiting. We sat down on the couch and waited.

"So how long have you guys known?" Onora asked quietly.

"Alice had a vision of your step-father murdering you," I replied and stroked her hair.

Carlisle sat down in front of her on the table, "Onora, you have to get checked out. I can be your doctor if you want me to, but I have to ask, do you know who the father is?"

Onora looked confused, "I thought Rose said you guys knew what I was going through."

"What else is going on Onora?" Carlisle asked and then closed his eyes. "Is your step-father the father of your baby?"

Onora began to sob and nodded, "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"


	10. The truth finally told

**Cerrydwenn: **Here's the next chapter! I hope you all like it. Thanks to the people who reviewed and favorited my story and all that. No one has voted on my poll and I would really like to know what you think should happen to Onora's baby. Please review, I enjoy them.

**Onora's POV**

"Can you tell us what's going on?" Carlisle gently asked me.

_Since they're going to hate me anyway… _"My step-father has been raping me since I moved here." I sobbed even harder, "And now I'm pregnant and he's going to kill me." I suddenly noticed that Rose, Edward, and Emmett had left. "I was right, you guys do hate me."

Esme came over to sit next to me, "We don't hate you sweetheart, we're just worried about you." She looked over at Carlisle who nodded.

"We need to get you to the hospital and conduct an exam," he said calmly and I pulled back. "There's no need to be alarmed Onora. I just need to gather evidence for the police so we can send your step-father to jail."

I jumped up, "No, no, no, we can't do that. He won't go to jail and then he'll lock me up and I'll never get away from him." I began to pace, "Can't you just forget everything I said. I'll be alright."

Carlisle shook his head, "I can't do that." He grabbed my shoulders and guided me back to the couch. I could feel waves of calm being forced on me and I gladly accepted them. "I am held by law to report any abuse and I care about you and don't want to see you hurt."

"Then just let me go home," I pleaded. "I can take care of myself. I'll be fine." I knew I wasn't fooling anyone since my voice was shaking so badly.

"We can keep you safe," Carlisle tried to reason with me, but my fear wasn't letting me see it. "And what about your baby?" _Okay, that does it._

"I don't know what I want to do yet," I replied quietly and then I got angry, "I just found out I was pregnant five seconds ago! Forgive me for not processing information as fast as a vampire does." I leaped off the couch again and headed for the door, but Alice stopped me.

"Please Onora," she begged and it seemed she was crying, "We want to help. I'm so scared he's going to kill you." She grabbed my hand, "We won't let him get to you. I promise."

I lowered my head and nodded, "Let's go to the hospital." I waited a moment, "can you and Esme come with me?"

We drove to the hospital in Carlisle's Mercedes. Edward, Rose and Emmett hadn't even come out to say goodbye. _Edward must think I'm disgusting. _"What's going to happen?" I asked since the silence in the car was making me very uncomfortable.

I looked up when Carlisle began to answer and saw him looking back at me in the rearview mirror. "Well, I am going to conduct an exam to document the extent of any damage." He stopped as if waiting for an answer, but I remained quiet. "I'll call the police and we'll have charges brought against your step-father and then a CPS agent will determine the safest place for you."

"There won't be any need for a CPS agent," Esme said fiercely, "she's staying with us and it doesn't matter what any of you say about it."

"Yes Dear," Carlisle replied and winked at me in the rearview mirror.

I kept my eyes down as Alice led me into the hospital. I felt as if everyone was watching me and knew my secret. I was so ashamed and dirty. I started to think of some ways to kill myself when Alice turned toward me and hissed, "Don't even think about it." I nodded my head without taking my eyes from the ground. I kept forgetting that Alice could see the future.

Finally, we stopped and I looked up to find two cops and some lady in a suit waiting. Carlisle, who had been leading us down the winding hallways to this part of the hospital, knelt down in front of me and looked into my eyes. "Onora," he began slowly, "I've brought you to a part of the hospital that's not being used right now so we can have some privacy." He waited for me to reply, but I kept quiet. "The police are going to question you first since I want to give you a sedative while I do the exam, is that okay?" Again, another small nod. I didn't know why they were all doing this since I knew it wasn't going to work. My step-father was going to prove that nothing was wrong, the only people I thought cared about me were going to be sent away and I was going to be punished until the end of time. I let a shudder and whimper escape as I thought about spending even one more night in the basement.

Esme came up and put her arms around my shoulders, "It'll be okay Sweetheart; I'll be with you the whole time."

What she said made me feel better, "Let's get this over with. I just want to sleep." Carlisle took the lead again as we walked to a small room. He handed me a white hospital gown and then left, only Alice and Esme remained behind. I quickly changed and sat down on the bed as Esme opened the door to let the others in.

"Alice," I whispered, "why did Rose, Edward, and Emmett leave after I told you all my secret?"

Alice looked pensive and replied, "Rose and Edward were really upset about what you said. Emmett went to go and calm them down. Jasper is trying as well."

My suspicions were confirmed, "I knew no one could ever care for someone like me."

Alice shook her head, "No, it's nothing like that. Rose and Edward want to kill your step-father. They're also upset with themselves because they couldn't protect you."

_Protect me? Why would anyone want to do that? _Esme entered the room then followed by Carlisle, the police, and the lady in the suit. I let my eyes drift to the two cops. One was male with dark curly hair, and the other was a woman with long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. The male one began to step forward first, but the female one put an arm on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Hello Onora," she greeted and smiled, "I'm Officer Meyer." She took a step forward, "I just wanted to talk to you about a few things."

I shrugged my shoulders and looked away, "Then talk."

She reached my bed, "Dr. Cullen says that you've been raped by your step-father. Is that right?" I nodded, trying to hold back tears. "Can you tell us about it?"

I reached out and an icy cold hand grabbed mine, "A few weeks after I came to America, my step-father called me into his office for a talk…"

_His smiles always made my stomach do flips. He had been very nice ever since I met him. Giving me a shoulder to cry on when I couldn't stand the grief anymore and being there when the nightmares woke me screaming at night. I wasn't really expecting to do what he did. When I entered the office he gestured for me to come closer and I easily complied._

"_Now Onora," he began, "I can't hold myself back anymore." He grabbed roughly by the arms and pulled me closer and pressed his lips to mine. I groaned and tried to push away, but he slapped me across the face. "Well, a fighter," he smiled and I felt real fear. "I wasn't expecting that, but it could make it more fun." _

_He pushed to the ground and held my hands above my head as he used the other to lift up my blouse. I squirmed underneath him and he hit me again. He snarled as he used his free hand to yank my pants down. "I'm going to enjoy this." He then grabbed my thigh and plunged into me making me scream._

"…and then when he was done he left me on the floor and said…" I was sobbing by this point and hadn't realized I was holding onto Esme with a death grip. "He said that that was all I was good for." My sobs finally subsided and I let go of Esme with a whispered, "Sorry." I wiped the tears from my face and faced the cop once more. "After that it became a regular occurrence. I tried to fight him by hitting him with a plate, but I missed and he locked me in the basement where he had a cage and chains. It was so cold." I shivered remembering the last time I was left in there.

Officer Meyers put a supportive hand on my shoulder, "What about your mother?"

I scoffed, "Like she ever cared for me. She knew what was going on and when she wasn't drunk she was using me as a punching bag."

"Okay," the other cop spoke up, "we have enough for an arrest warrant." He faced the lady in the suit, "Miss Kiley, I leave this with you." With a nod to everyone in the room, he and Officer Meyers left.

Miss Kiley stepped forward, "Miss Wales I am Lisa Kiley, I'll be covering your case for the duration." She glanced from Esme to Carlisle, "I was told that you both wanted to take her in?" Esme nodded enthusiastically. "I'll just need you to sign some papers and I'll be routinely checking in to make sure she's doing okay."

"Of course," Carlisle said and grabbed the papers Miss Kiley handed him. He signed them all and handed them back. She left and I went back to staring at the ground.

"I'm sorry you had to hear all that," I said as I wiped more tears from my face.

"Don't worry about it," Carlisle reassured me. "I'm going to sedate you now for the exam and then we can go home. Alice called Jasper and he and the others have your room all set up. She ran home to see if she has anything you can borrow till we can get some clothes of your own." He walked over to a metal tray and picked up a metal syringe.

_Home? My own room? Clothes of my own? _"You don't have to do that," I told Esme. "I have clothes and stuff."

"I know," she said and kissed my cheek, "but Alice is convinced you need a whole new wardrobe."

I felt the sting of the needle and my vision began to blur. Then I blacked out completely.

**Carlisle POV**

We arrived back at the house and Onora and I lifted Onora out of the back seat. She stirred for a moment and then went right back to sleep.

"Poor dear," Esme commented as we walked to the house, "she's been through so much."

"At least she can get a good night's sleep tonight," I said and entered the house where Edward and the others were waiting anxiously. I shook my head at their questioning gazes. "You know I can't tell you anything." I headed for the stairs, "And don't try to read my mind either Edward." I carried Onora upstairs to her room and laid her down on the bed. She stirred again, but rolled over and began to sleep again. I pulled her shoes off easily and covered her up, "Sleep well." I waited a few minutes to make sure she would stay asleep and then walked downstairs.

"This is all over the news," Rosalie pointed to the TV where a man and a woman were being led out of a house by police.

"This just in," a reporter's voice filled the room, "Scott Nelson has been arrested on charges of raping his sixteen-year-old step-daughter Onora Wales." A picture of the red head flashed across the screen. "He has also been charged with neglect, child abuse, and imprisonment of a minor. His bail hearing is set for tomorrow morning. His wife, Elise Nelson, has also been arrested on the charges of child endangerment, accessory, and neglect." The report finally came on screen, "We will bring you continued updates on this horrendous situation as we get them."

I picked up the remote and turned off the television, "You guys really don't need to be watching this." I noticed Edward began to shake with anger, "Calm down son."

"Why should I be calm?" Edward shouted back. "All this time and that monster was hurting her like that."

"I told you we should have intervened earlier," Rose interjected, a bit smugly.

"Yes Rose," Edward replied through gritted teeth, "as you said all afternoon."

"And you were the one who kept saying we couldn't do anything," Rosalie accused Edward.

"Stop acting like children the both of you," Esme demanded. "We made mistakes, but right now that young girl needs us and you're all fighting like five-year-olds. How is that helping her?" Edward and Rose hung their heads in shame and both gave Esme a quick apology.

"The reporters will be here tomorrow morning," Alice revealed. "And you can bet that the students at school are going to give her a hard time."

"I hadn't thought of that," Esme glanced over at me worried. "Should we take her out of school and home school her?"

I smiled, of course Esme would think of Onora before about herself. "I don't know yet. We can't leave the state because there will most likely be a trial. We'll talk it over with her and see what she thinks."

"Alice, can you see anything about Onora?" Edward asked, a little desperate.

Alice shook her head, "It's still fuzzy. All I can see is what's happening around her, like the reporters or lawyers." She frowned, "They reporters will be here for a while."

"Yeah," Emmett yelled out, "I've been itching for a fight; even if it is with reporters."

We all turned to face the stairs when we heard someone laugh and saw Onora sitting on the last stair. And she was smiling.

**Onora POV**

I woke up starving and climbed out of bed. I took a second to look at my surroundings in what I guessed would be my room. The walls were a deep red with a lighter red trimming. The carpet was the same dark red as the walls. The bed was queen sized with a blue comforter that sat across from a larger cherry wood dresser. There were a few paintings on the walls, but it still felt empty to me. My stomach growled, reminding me of why I woke up and I made my way slowly downstairs.

"… like reporters or lawyers." I heard Alice say. "The reporters will be here for a while." I sat down on the last step and listened.

"Yeah," Emmett exclaimed, "I've been itching for a fight; Even if it is with reporters."

For some reason that made me laugh and suddenly everyone was looking at me. I stopped laughing, but I did smile. I was trying to be as normal as possible for their sakes.

"Oh, we didn't wake you did we dear?" Esme asked as she approached me.

I shook my head, "I got hungry. I was just coming down to find a snack or something."

"No, I'll get it," Esme called as she changed course to the kitchen. "I could whip up a pot of spaghetti in no time."

I opened my mouth to stop her, but Edward came up beside me and shook his head, "Don't stop her, she enjoys having someone to take care of." He brushed some of my hair away from my face, "And it's okay to act upset, we'll understand."

"You left though," I told him still able to get over it.

He closed his eyes and I wished I could see inside his mind. "I'm sorry," he said after a few minutes had passed. "I left because I was so angry with your step-father for hurting you and I didn't want you to see me like that. I want your life here to be peaceful."

I nodded, "Then can I ask you something? Can you stop referring to Scott has my step-father?" I had made that decision earlier. Now that my secret was out, I could distance myself from him.

"Well, Rosalie has come up with some good titles for him," Edward smiled, "like fester idiotic slime ball from the bowels of hell."

I let out a light chuckle, "That's a little long don't you think?"

His reply was to wrap his arms around my shoulders and kiss me on the forehead. Then he suddenly pulled back, "I'm sorry. That was too forward of me."

"Actually, I kind of liked it," I said, a bit embarrassed, as I leaned against his shoulder. "I feel safe with you Edward."

He picked me up and sat me down in his arms, "And I will keep you safe."

"Awww," Emmett popped up, "Eddie and Onora sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G…"

Roaslie grabbed Emmett by the hand, "Come on Emmett, let's go hunting and leave the two love birds alone."

"If they wanted to be alone they should get a room," Emmett yelled as he was left the house.


	11. The public has a right to know

**Cerrydwenn:** Here's the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy it. Please read and review. Thanks to all who had favorited me or put me on their story alerts or reviewed. You guys are the ones that keep me writing.

**Edward's POV**

I looked out the window at the reporters who refused to leave our property. I was glad we were all able to hunt before they came and planted themselves on our doorstep; even the rain wouldn't get them to leave. It was a miracle that Carlisle was able to get to work everyday. I looked over at Onora who was lying down on the couch watching TV. Esme and Carlisle had both decided to keep her home from school for a while so she wouldn't have to face the impending questions from other students there.

I approached the couch and after Onora lifted her feet I sat down. "Anything good on?"

"I'm on every stinking news channel," she grumbled. She stopped on Channel 4 News where one of the countless reporters who stood outside our house flashed across the screen.

"Onora Wales has yet to make an appearance outside of the Cullen home. Dr. Carlisle Cullen and Esme Cullen have offered to take her in for the time being. Her step-father Scott Nelson has said he is innocent and that he would never hurt the young girl he sees as his daughter." The scene switched to an interview of Nelson in front of his house. "I can't believe Onora would accuse me of this. I tried so hard to be the father she no longer has, but I should have seen the signs. She tried to commit suicide when she was fourteen and instead of having her get help, I hid it for her sake. I wanted things to be as normal as possible for her, but I see that her hysteria has only progressed. I am confident that the courts will see through her lies and I hope that Dr. Cullen can get Onora the help she desperately needs. If you're seeing this Onora, I'm sorry I failed you."

The scene went back to the reporter, "Without a statement from Onora, we can only guess if Scott Nelson is telling the truth. According to reports from classmates, however, Onora was much of a loner spending most of her time in the music room at Forks High and had turned away from the other students since she began attending the high school. Just know, this reporter won't stop still she gets to the bottom of this. This is Sarah Baler reporting for Channel 4 News. Back to you."

The screen went blank as Onora shut it off and threw the remote across the room, "Are they serious? They're making me out to be an attention grabbing depressed psychopath that goes around slitting my wrists!"

"You haven't done that, have you?" I asked as I grimaced. Onora glared at me before pacing the living room. The rest of the family had entered the living following her outburst.

"I just bet that those so-called sources were Stanley and Mallory," she said as she continued to pace. "If I get my hands on them…" I smiled as her accent became deeper. I thought it made her seem cuter. "And what are you smiling about?" She turned on me and growled.

"You should make a statement," Carlisle suggested. "They're only going to be making assumptions until you open up."

She stopped pacing and plopped back onto the couch, "They'll just keep camping out in your front yard." Her tone was apologetic as her thoughts kept circling around that everything was her fault.

"It's not your fault," I tried to reassure as I moved closer and put my arm around her. "It's Nelson's fault and that thing he calls a wife."

A smile almost tugged at the edges of her mouth, but it quickly disappeared. _"If only I could convince myself that." _I wanted to tell her to stop thinking like that, but I also knew she needed time.

"At least they don't know about the baby," Alice commented as she sat down next to Onora. Onora's hands went to her stomach and her face went pale. Carlisle had done an ultrasound a few days ago and had confirmed that Onora was six weeks pregnant.

"Great way to calm her down," I grumbled to my sister. Esme came forward with a cup of water and Onora took it with a mumbled thanks.

"We've hired a lawyer for you Onora," Carlisle revealed as Onora gulped down her water. "He'll be able to circumvent most of the reporters. Just make a simple statement and refer them to the lawyer. If they continue to stay, they won't get anything new from you."

Onora set the glass down and nodded, _"Please don't make me do it alone." _

I grabbed one of her hands with my free one, "I'll go out with you. You don't have to do any of this alone."

**Onora POV**

I clutched Edward's hands as hard as I could as I walked out the front door to face the mob. As soon as they realized it was me, they jumped on me only stopping when Jasper and Emmett both flanked behind me. I couldn't see their faces, but I could see the reporters and I nearly burst out laughing at their looks of horror.

Carlisle came up from behind me and addressed the crowd, "Miss Wales will make a brief statement and answer a few questions." The reporters lit up and nearly assaulted me with their microphones. "After today, if you have any further questions you can contact her lawyer, Robert Preston. If you continue to stay on our property, you will not get any more information."

"The public has a right to know," one reporter shouted. Carlisle opened his mouth to reply, but I shoved him aside and stepped up.

"The public has a right to know that an innocent girl was repeatedly raped by someone who was supposed to protect her?" I asked, my tone cold as ice. "You guys are just a bunch of leeches who prey on privacy and you all think that you are the bringers of truth?" I dropped Edward's hand and clenched mine at my side. "May God have mercy on your soul for your slander." I took a deep breath trying to calm myself down. "Now, I'm going to make a statement and you all are going to leave, or I'll sue every one of you for invasion of privacy and slander amongst other charges." _Being the stepdaughter of a lawyer does have its advantages_.

The reporters all took a step back and I was surprised at where my sudden courage came from. I glanced I glanced up to find Jasper, who was looking at me and winked before looking away.

"That's my statement," I said as I put my hands on my hips. "I will answer questions for five minutes and then you will have to ask my lawyer."

Reporters began to throw questions at me again and I picked a random one out of the crowd, purposely ignoring the rude on.

"Why did you try to commit suicide?" one pushed forward to ask me.

"I was living with a monster and a mother who didn't care," I replied, sadly. "I felt it was the only way out."

"What made you tell someone now?" the first reporter, a lot kinder, asked me.

"I don't know," I lied as I shrugged my shoulders. I was really glad that my pregnancy was still a secret. "I guess the stress and the pain. Waking up every day not knowing if I was going to be raped or not caused me to break down. I was just lucky that Dr. Cullen believed me and took me in." My nerves settled down a bit when someone squeezed my shoulder in support. I answered a few more questions, trying to keep my answers as vague as possible. I really didn't want the whole world to know.

Esme put her arm around me and led me back into the house. I barely heard as Carlisle gave the reporters the number they could call and was grateful when the door was shut and I burst into tears.

My eyes opened and adjusted to the dark that surrounded me. For a moment I didn't recognize where I was and I began to panic. Cold arms wrapped around me and I calmed down.

"It's okay," Edward whispered in my ear. "You're in your room. You fell asleep after talking to the reporters and we brought you up here." Suddenly the lights came on and I covered my eyes until they adjusted to the brightness. I didn't even feel him move. "I should have left the light on, but I didn't want to disturb your sleep."

"Were you watching me?" I asked suspiciously and Edward seemed a little nervous. I began to laugh, "You were watching me." He smiled and hugged me closer.

"I like hearing you laugh," he said. "It's like listening to music." I blushed and looked away.

"What time is it?" I asked him trying to change the subject. I hope it's dinner time, because I am hungry." My stomach growled as if on cue and I laughed again.

"It's almost eight," he replied, "and Esme is already busy in the kitchen."

I shook my head, "She doesn't have to do that. I can make myself something."

"When are you going to understand that we want to take care of you?" He asked me, a little impatiently and I drew back and got up off the bed.

"After hearing what I said today, I'm surprised any of you want to be in the same room as me," I remarked trying to keep the tears from returning. "I don't even want to be in the same room as me." I jumped when I heard a loud crash coming from downstairs, "What was that?"

Edward's once again wrapped around me in comfort, "That was just Rosalie. She's upset that she didn't see the signs and interfere sooner. She also thinks that if you think none of us wants to be around you, you have another thing coming. We already think of you as family, and no matter what happens we'll always be here for you."

I narrowed my eyes, "Is that what she's thinking or what you're thinking?"

He kissed me on my forehead, "It's what we're all thinking. Actually, it's taking all of Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett's control to go out and kill that raving lunatic from the bowels of Hell who deserves to have his skin peeled off and his heart eaten." He smiled. "While he watches naturally."

We finally went downstairs and the atmosphere was very subdued. I felt sorry for Jasper; he was feeling everything all at once. I really wish there was something I could for them, but I didn't feel all that happy myself.

"Onora," Esme called, "your dinner's ready." I walked to the table and my mood lifted a bit at what Esme had cooked for me. A very large bowl of ravioli. I sat in the dining room alone since I hated it when people watched me eat. When I had explained to the Cullens about my mother calling me fat every time I ate, they agreed to give me some time. I finished eating and washed my dishes wanting to be as little trouble as possible. _I just wish there was something I could do. _Then I remembered what my papa would do whenever one of us was upset. I hesitated about going through with the plan though. I really didn't want to bother anyone. _I'll do it anyway. They told me to make myself at home._

I grabbed some spoons from the drawer in the kitchen and raced to the living room where I flung them down on the small table. "Onora, what are you doing?" Carlisle asked me, but I ignored him as I sprinted up the stairs to my room. I grabbed my CD case- Alice had gone in and grabbed some stuff for me- and pulled out the ABBA CD. ABBA was papa's and mine favorite band and listening to their songs always put us in a good mood. _I know Edward hates them…_ I pushed the thought away and made my way back downstairs. There was a large sound system that surrounded the flat screen and I slipped the CD in. Immediately the song began to play and I grabbed one of the spoons and sang along to it.

You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life  
See that girl, watch that scene, digging the Dancing Queen

I started to dance around the living room a bit trying to get the others into it. Alice and Rosalie both grabbed spoons and began to sing along with me.

Friday night and the lights are low  
Looking out for the place to go  
Where they play the right music, getting in the swing  
You come in to look for a king  
Anybody could be that guy  
Night is young and the music's high  
With a bit of rock music, everything is fine  
You're in the mood for a dance  
And when you get the chance...

By this time everyone but Edward had joined in. But the smile I saw on his face lifted my heart.

You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen  
Dancing Queen, feel the beat from the tambourine  
You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life  
See that girl, watch that scene, digging the Dancing Queen

You're a teaser, you turn 'em on  
Leave them burning and then you're gone  
Looking out for another, anyone will do  
You're in the mood for a dance  
And when you get the chance...

You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen  
Dancing Queen, feel the beat from the tambourine  
You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life  
See that girl, watch that scene, digging the Dancing Queen

The song ended and I stood in front of Edward, "I know you don't like that kind of music, but I just wanted to help."

He shook his head, "Don't be sorry, I may start enjoying it," he grabbed my chin, "as long as you're the one singing it." Then he did something I was not expecting… He kissed me!


	12. The Kiss and The Death Prophecy

**Cerrydwenn: I know, I know. This is so late and I am very sorry. A very bad thing happened and I was severely depressed. But now the bad thing is over and I am able to write again. Please review! Also thanks to those who have followed or reviewed this! It makes me happy.**

**Onora POV**

I stood there in shock for a few moments after Edward ended the kiss. When I finally realized what happened, I took a few steps back opened my mouth, closed it and then turned away. "Umm, I need a shower." I ran up the stairs to my room and gathered my things for a shower. After my shower, I curled around my pillow and thought about the kiss. I was so conflicted. Part of me was upset because Edward was moving too fast. I mean, didn't I tell him we needed to move slow? Another part of me was happy and really enjoyed that kiss. He was so tender and the kiss was so soft. Unlike my stepfather. I was so confused.

Edward made me feel so safe and was always there when I needed him. All of the Cullens were there for me, but there was something about how Edward took care of me. How he was there for me when I was having a nightmare even before I woke up. How he smiled when I would walk downstairs. I would just start to feel sad and he would materialize right next to me and hold me telling me it was okay. He made me feel special. However, I was terrified about the kiss. What could it mean? _Does he see past the ugliness?_

I flopped over on my back and groaned. _What if he's just being nice? _I just couldn't see how anyone could accept me for what I was. I felt so dirty all the time. Why would anyone want to touch me? _My own mother doesn't want me… So why would Edward?_

I was pulled out of my depressed thoughts by a light knock on my door. "Come in." I sat up and grabbed my hairbrush to begin on my hair when Edward entered the room.

"I wanted to apologize for my forwardness in kissing you," he sounded so formal as he stood as straight as a soldier. "You asked to go slow and I did not respect your position on the matter."

I just rolled my eyes. I appreciated his apology, but I could have done without the formality. "I'm just not ready for this Edward. I need time to get through this."

He nodded his head, "I understand." He turned to leave and faced me again, "By the way, everything about you is beautiful."

I blushed, sure that my face matched the color of my hair, "Stupid mind reading."

**Edward POV**

After Onora left the room, Rosalie and Alice turned on me. "What were you thinking kissing her?"

"I can't believe you would just take advantage of her like that!" Rosalie growled getting in his face. "Do you not realize what she's been through?"

"I wasn't trying to take advantage of her," I replied, disappointed in myself. "And yes, I know what she's been through." I pulled at my hair, "I can read her mind. I can see her nightmares just as well as she can. I relive the memories as she is reliving them." I pointed my finger at her, "Don't you dare think that you know what she's going through more than me."

"Oh yes Edward," Rosalie spat in my face, "because what I went through is nothing compared to your ability to read minds. You don't know the fear that races through her or the hate she feels for herself because of what happened. She feels she doesn't deserve love." Emmett glared at me as he grabbed her in a hug.

I could tell that if Rosalie had the ability to cry, she would begin sobbing by now. "I'm sorry Rosalie, you were right." I was so lost. I had never felt like this and I was apparently messing the whole thing up. "When she gets out of the shower I'll go and apologize to her."

The tenseness in the air had finally calmed down and I sat down on the couch thinking of what to say. Carlisle sat down next to me, "She needs you Edward, and right now she needs you as a friend."

I nodded, "What I want to do is to tear that monster of a man limb from limb. I'll keep his head whole so he can watch. Then I would give his head to Onora as a gift."

Surprisingly Carlisle laughed, "How pleasing that may sound, I'm sure Onora would prefer another less violent gift. Like I said, just be there for her and show her you care. Let her come to you in her own time." He looked over where Alice sat talking to Esme about taking Onora shopping tomorrow after the meeting with the prosecutor. "She's really going to need you tomorrow. And don't take Alice and Rosalie's words to heart. We're all tense with the current situation."

I looked up the stairs and listened as Onora moved around her room. I looked at Carlisle and he nodded in understanding. I ran at vampire speed up the stairs to her bedroom. I knocked softly and waited for the soft "Come in." I opened the door and stood at attention, trying not to be distracted by Onora's hair.

"I wanted to apologize for my forwardness in kissing you." _Why do I sound like I am talking to a general? _"You asked to go slow and I did not respect your position on the matter."

She rolled her eyes at me and I almost smiled. ""I'm just not ready for this Edward. I need time to get through this."

I nodded, "I understand." I turned to leave, but her thoughts kept running through my head so I faced her again, "By the way everything about you is beautiful."

She blushed and my stomach flipped, "Stupid mind reading."

Esme's question filled my mind, "Esme would like to know if you want a cup of tea before bed."

Onora nodded enthusiastically and finished brushing her hair, "Do you think Alice or Rosalie would mind braiding my hair?"

I was sure that even Onora could hear Alice's squeal, but I laughed and nodded, "I'm sure they'd love to."

A few minutes later Onora was situated at the table drinking some mint tea with Alice sitting behind her braiding her hair. Rosalie was sitting beside her chatting with her. I could have spent the whole time just staring at Onora, but a question from Rosalie caught my attention and made the room silent. "Have you thought what you're going to do with the baby?"

"I was actually going to talk to Carlisle and Esme about it sometime this week," Onora admitted. "I wanted to wait till after I meet with the prosecutor however." She placed one hand on her stomach, "I was thinking of keeping it, but like I said I must talk to Carlisle and Esme first."

Alice suddenly gasped and her vision filled my head.

_Onora, bloodied and very pregnant with cuts along her arms and neck, was tied to a tree. Her stepfather came into view, a large knife in his hands. Just as he is about to stab her, the scene changed to Onora lying in a hospital bed, her chest hardly moving. The monitor next to her showed that her heart was failing, Carlisle shouted orders to a nurse, but Onora's heart flat lined._

Alice came out of her vision gasping for air and nearly falling out of her chair. I jumped up and helped her to her feet. "You can't tell her," I whispered in her ear. Alice just glared at me as she sat back down, _"She needs to know Edward_." I felt Jasper push me out of the way as he kneeled down next to Alice.

"Alice, what happened?" he asked rubbing her back.

"I saw something terrible," she said as her gasps subsided. She looked over at Onora who was standing, her mouth wide open. "Onora, you're going to die."

"She is not going to die!" I yelled and stepped forward to grab her but Jasper pushed me out of the way. "Your visions are not 100% true and you know it!"

"Edward." The one word from Esme had me calming down and I could see the disappointment in her eyes. "Let Alice explain."

I looked over at Onora who was looking at me with fear and I felt even worse. "I'm sorry Onora." She nodded but she went over to Esme and hid in her arms.

Everyone looked at Alice waiting for an explanation. "It was the same vision as before, Onora tied to a tree and her stepfather stabbing her, but this time she was pregnant. Then it switched to her lying in a hospital bed where her heart stopped."

"Was my baby okay?" Onora asked muffled against Esme's shirt. "Did you see my baby?"

I mentally scoffed. _She just hears that she has a death sentence and she is more worried about the baby._

"I didn't see the baby," Alice admitted.

"_So I'm going to die," _Onora thought mournfully. _"All this time fighting that bastard only to die at his hands."_

"You're not going to die," I put my hand on her hand to reassure her. "We'll protect you." Everyone nodded. "I won't let him put a hand on you again."

Onora turned to look at me, tears in her eyes and running down her cheeks, "I'm so scared." She turned back towards Esme and began to sob while Esme tried to soothe her with words.

**Scott POV**

I stood at the kitchen window drinking whiskey. Because of what that girl did I wasn't able to leave my own home. _She will pay for spreading those lies. I've done nothing wrong. _I took another swig of the brown liquid and let my mind run with the punishments I was going to give her once she got home. _If she thought it was hard before, then she hasn't learned anything yet. _

I was going to have to get her alone. Ever since she ran away she was surrounded by those Cullens. "Probably filling her head with even more lies. I knew I should have cut off any contact with them. When I get her back, she won't have any contact with the outside world at all." _Those stupid Cullens would probably kidnap her. I'll have to kill them._

"I'm hungry Scott," the bitch Elise complained as she entered the kitchen.

"Well then make something," I nearly growled and threw my glass into the sink. "I'm not your slave."

Elise glared at me and for a second she looked so much like Onora it made my stomach church. "If that idiot girl hadn't ratted you out then I would be able to go out, but I'm stick here, same as you." She held out her leg to show the homing bracelet that was locked on it. "It's your fault I'm stuck here like this. You and that whore."

I slapped her and she fell to the ground, "She has more grace than you could ever think of having." I looked down at Elise with disgust. She needed to be taught a lesson "You're not Onora, but you'll do for now. Let's just hope you learn faster than your luscious daughter does." She tried to get up, but I grabbed her by the hair and threw her down again. I straddled her and held her hands above her head while she began to plead, "This might be a little fun."

A few hours later, I reentered the kitchen while smoking a cigar. Elise was still lying in the middle of the floor where I had left her. "Still there, are you?" I gave her a soft kick as I passed, "Onora would be up by now. She's also better in bed than you. I can't wait to have her back, and then I can kick you out." I continued walking over to the counter and saw the knife set Elise had spent hundreds on only to not use it since she never cooked. I pulled the largest one out of the holder, the blade reflecting my smile. "Yes, my sweet Onora, I will be coming for you."

**Cerrydwenn: Yes, I gave you a Scott POV and there will probably be more in the future. Please tell me what you think. Review! Also, I have already started the next chapter!**


	13. The Ultimate Breakdown

**Cerrydwenn: Here is the next chapter, I hope you like it. It is a very emotional chapter so warning. Thanks to ****Pixiecropse for the review.**

**Onora POV**

I shuddered as I walked up the steps to the building that held the prosecutor's office. It was snowing, but I had shuddered more out of fear. This was my first meeting with the man who was going to fight my case for me and I was afraid because of the questions he was going to ask me.

"You'll do fine," Carlisle assured me as he led me through the doors into a brightly lit hall. It was lot warmer in the hall, but I still shuddered. "He just wants to ask you some questions and to give you an idea of the path he wants to take with your case. You will be required to testify, but he wants to limit that as much as he can."

Esme kept hold of my hand as we walked down the hall. Even though it was colder than the temperatures outside, it still held comfort. Only Esme and Carlisle had come with me, but Alice promised to meet up at the mall so we could go shopping. I just didn't know how I would feel after that ordeal. "How long will this take?" My accent had been out all morning and screamed my nervousness to the entire world.

Carlisle gave me a small smile, "I don't think too long. Then we can meet Alice and the others at the mall for some Christmas shopping." Christmas was approaching fast. It was next week and Edward and the others only had a few days before school let out for the holidays. To tell the truth, I wasn't all that interested in Christmas. Christmas in Ireland had been fun and full of love. The whole village would get together for a large potluck and exchange gifts. However, the monster who tortured me had ruined the holiday for me. Every year since I had come to live in Forks, he had given me some form of lingerie and made me do things to him. I nearly vomited at the memories.

I shrugged my shoulders, content to be back at the house rolled up in a blanket, but if this is what put Scott into jail, then I had to do it. In less time than I was ready in, we were at the office and Carlisle was knocking on the door. A middle aged woman wearing a navy blue power suit opened the door.

"Oh, you must be Dr. Cullen," she greeted and gestured us inside. "Please have a seat; Mr. Jones will be right with you." She began to walk back to her desk, but stopped. "Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee? Water?"

Both Carlisle and Esme shook their heads and I almost shook my head until I realized how thirsty I was. "Could I have water please?" She gave me a small smile as she nodded and walked over to the tiny fridge next to her desk. She pulled out a bottle of water and made her over again to hand it to me. I mumbled a "Thanks" to her and took a sip. After a few minutes of silence, another door opened and a tall man with dark skin came out. He had buzzcut and large dark brown eyes. When he saw me, his eyes seemed to be filled with pity. I nearly frowned, I was so sick of the pity. He began walking over to us and both Carlisle and Esme stood and shook hands with him.

"Sorry for the wait," he said in his booming voice. "I was on the phone with Nelson's attorney. He's trying to get some of the evidence thrown out. Saying we seized it illegally." He laughed as if it was a joke, "But his claims won't hold up in any court in the state of Washington." He offered his hand for me to shake, but I shrank back into my chair. I guess he got the point because he withdrew his hand and his smile faltered a bit. I didn't know why, but I kept getting the feeling that he was sleazy has Scott. _Maybe it's because he's a lawyer, like Him._

Mr. Jones waved at his door, "Please come in, we have much to discuss." I grabbed Esme's hand again as she led me into the large office. There was a window behind his desk and I looked out at the light snow falling. _Wouldn't it be nice to freeze so that I don't feel anything? _I was so tired of feeling scared, of the nightmares and after last night… _I'm going to die. _I didn't remember falling asleep the night before. According to Esme I had cried myself into exhaustion. She had tried to coerce me to eat breakfast, but all I could stomach were a few pieces of toast. It didn't help anything that Edward had an argument with both Carlisle and Esme before leaving for school. He had wanted to come with us, but Carlisle made him go to school. I didn't really want him to come anyways. I didn't want him to hear what had been done to me.

"Onora," Esme's soft voice pulled me from my thoughts and I turned away from the window. I blushed when I saw all three of them staring at me. I muttered a quick apology and gave my attention to Mr. Jones.

Mr. Jones cleared his throat, "To begin, we were able to obtain enough evidence for a conviction, however if you testify Miss Wales, it puts a human face to the case and adds sympathy." He stopped; it seemed to see if I would respond. "I will go over the questions with you another day after all the evidence has been reviewed."

Alarm slammed through me, "What kind of evidence did you find?"

"Well, we will be submitting the small cage that we found in the basement," he replied slowly and I could tell he was stonewalling. "We also have the reports that Dr. Cullen gave us." He looked over at Carlisle who nodded. He began to get nervous and I stared him down. "I'm sorry to reveal this, but we did locate some videos and pictures of you and him."

I slid out of my chair and clutched at my chest. I couldn't breathe. All I could think was that they had found the tapes. The tapes that were proof that I was the slut my mother always told me I was. Scott made me do things to him. Horrible things. _Now everyone's going to see. _I felt a tug on my arm and saw Esme and Carlisle, worry filling their golden eyes, trying to get me to stand up. I pushed them both away and ran out the door, ignoring the calls of my name. I finally stopped running when I found a bathroom and hid inside. I clapped my hand over my mouth as the need to throw up increased and I dashed into a stall. I emptied the contents of my stomach and sat down on the floor panting. I heard the door open and soft footsteps on the bathroom floor.

"Onora, Sweetie," Esme called and I cowered even more. "Are you okay? Please come out and talk to me."

With my entire body shaking, I stood up and opened the door. I made my way over to the sink to wash my mouth out. I refused to cry. I didn't want anyone to know how weak I was. "I'm sorry for running," I apologized looking at the ground. "I was feeling sick." It was a convincing lie since it was half truth anyway. I had gotten sick.

Esme took me into her arms, "It's okay. I was just worried about you. We should have rescheduled when you woke up not feeling well."

I shook my head, "I wanted to get it done today. I want all of this behind me." _If only the trial could be done today._ I let go of her and made my way over to the door only to open it and find Carlisle standing in the hallway waiting.

He put his hands on my shoulders and looked at me with sad eyes. "I'm fine," I lied interrupting his chance to voice any questions. "Should we go back now?" I didn't wait for an answer and turned down the hall. I put on my mask and walked back down to Mr. Jones' office. "I'm sorry for running out on our meeting; I haven't been feeling well lately." I sat down just as Carlisle and Esme filed in both giving me confused looks.

"Um of course Miss Wales," Mr. Jones said without missing a beat. "The trial is scheduled to begin the fourteenth of January. Usually it takes a few months to get one scheduled, but with the amount of evidence we have collected we were able to get an earlier date. Also, Nelson and his attorney wanted this trial to be over a quick as possible."

_That's fine with me. But then everyone is going to see those videos. _I only nodded however.

"Now, since you are a minor," he began again, "the courtroom will be cleared of everyone but the judge, me, Nelson, his attorney, the jury, the bailiff and the stenographer during your testimony. It is your choice if you want Dr. and Mrs. Cullen in with you."

_It was my choice? I could keep them from hearing the things that Scott had made me do to him? But how would I tell them that I didn't want them at the trial with me? Would they understand? _"What about the media?"

He gave me the same look of pity he had when he first saw me, "I was able to get the judge to approve that there be no one from the media in the court room. There won't even be artists. However, according to the First Amendment, I cannot keep them from standing outside the courthouse. You will be hounded on them on your way in and out of the courthouse." He frowned, "You would think they would have respect for a young woman who is a victim of the most horrendous crime a human could ever commit." My respect for him increased, but my fear still remained.

"Could we sneak her in a back way?" I looked at Carlisle surprised; he had been quiet since we all arrived. "I'm sorry, but I don't want my daughter to be hounded by those leeches."

"Yes, she's already been through so much," Esme agreed and she reached over to grab my hand. "She deserves protection."

The attorney nodded in agreement, "I'll come up with something. Decoy cars and a back way in. I'll have my assistant walk the court house and see what we can do."

I remained quiet as Mr. Jones went over some other details and finally we were able to leave. "Why don't we stop and get something to eat?" Esme suggested as she put her arm around my shoulders and began to lead me out of the building to the car. I knew she was worried since I hadn't eaten breakfast and it was nearing to 3:00.

"I'm not hungry," I replied quietly. The depression was starting to sink in. When I was depressed, I didn't eat. I wouldn't tell them that though. I just wasn't in the mood for anymore questions. I would also have to tell them what was wrong since their stupid gifts could see past the façade. At least Esme and Carlisle believed me for now. It made my heart sink thinking what the others would say when they found out that I was Scott's personal porn star. That's what he did. Sometimes he would make me dress in costumes and he would video tape the rapes. And then make me do things to him. Memories of the night before flooded my mind. _At least I'll be dead. But when will that be? Maybe I should just kill myself now and get it over with. It would save everyone the pain of being around a slut. _I looked down at my wrists and remembered the night I had tried to commit suicide.

_I had been living with Mother and Father for almost a year. I was losing weight at an alarming rate because I hadn't been eating. I was just too disgusted with myself to eat. I slowly sat down on my bed and cringed at the pain in my back and thighs. The rape from the night before had been brutal and I still hadn't healed yet. I just wanted to escape the hell that I had been forced into. I also wanted to see my papa again and being dead was the only way to make that happen. I brushed away any tears that threatened to escape and took a deep breath. I picked up the knife I had stolen from the kitchen and I swear I could see my salvation in the blade. I slowly cut a straight line down my arm and felt happy at the blood that pooled. I did the same thing to the other wrist and then lay down on my bed letting the darkness take me._

Obviously it didn't work. Scott had walked into my bedroom a minute later and found me. He took me to the hospital and paid the doctor to keep it quiet. He told the doctor it was because he didn't want people to think of me as crazy and he promised to keep a closer on me. I knew it was because the psychopath was afraid that I would tell someone what he was doing to me. As soon as I was better, I received the worst punishment ever. Not only was I locked in the basement for days, but I was also raped repeatedly and whipped. I nearly threw up again at the memory.

I traced my finger along the large vain in my wrist. _I should do it. Maybe I could get it right this time. But how can I do it surrounded by a bunch of vampires?_

The drive to the mall was silent and I was grateful. The parking lot was full when we arrived and my scowled deepened. I even recognized some of the cars as we pulled up to the entrance. _Not Lauren and Jessica. _I let a groan escape and Carlisle glanced at my reflection through the rearview mirror.

"We can just take you home," he offered, but just as I was about to answer, Alice opened the car door and nearly gave me a dislocated shoulder as she pulled me from the car. "Onora, I'm so glad you're here!" I put a smile on, not wanting anyone to know what I was planning. _Hopefully Alice didn't get a vision. _Edward gave me confused glance but I ignored it and turned to wave goodbye to Esme and Carlisle. Carlisle had to work and Esme said she wasn't up for shopping. I wasn't either, but I didn't think I could get out of it. I let Alice lead me inside the mall and to the first store her eyes landed on.

I was exhausted, not only from the emotional day but from the nonstop shopping. I really wanted to go home, but Alice kept saying one more store. There were a ton of bags, most of them for me and I was able to help pick out some of the items. Other times, one of the Cullens would pull me away for a minute or two while the others bought even more. I had tried to convince them that I didn't need anything, especially since I didn't have any money, but Alice had put her foot down and told me she was going to buy me these things. I was the only one not encumbered with bags. I felt since it was for me then I should carry the bags. I had tried to argue, but Jasper gave me one of his smiles that still made my stomach flip and I conceded. _I don't know why they are doing this. I'm not worth it._

Both Edward and Jasper dropped the bags they were carrying and turned towards me. "Don't think like that," Edward said as he brushed a stray hair out of my face. "You are so worth it." Jasper may have made my stomach flip, but Edward made my legs want to give out.

"Do I need to send some happiness your way?" Jasper asked cheerfully and I smiled as I shook my head.

"I'm just really tired," I explained and at the right moment a yawn escaped. "I've been at it all day remember?"

Edward nodded in understanding, "I'll talk to Alice."

Before he could though, Alice came over pouting, "Please Onora, just one more store?"

I sighed, "You've been saying that all afternoon Alice, I really just want a nap."

"Well if it isn't the Forks High Slut," a familiar voice called from several feet away. The other shoppers around us stopped and looked at the girls who had called out to us. I stiffened.

"Well aren't you going to answer?" Lauren asked as she and her other cheerleader lackeys made their way over to us. _Great, like this day wasn't bad enough._ "Come on slut, answer me." She reached out to hit me, but Edward grabbed her arm.

"I would suggest," he said teeth clenched, "that you and your friends go elsewhere." I looked at the other Cullens and they had the same expression of anger that Edward did. Jasper seemed angrier though. Poor guy must have feeling the anger of the whole room.

Lauren smirked, "We'll go somewhere else if you come along with us." She sneered at me, "I may not be as experienced as this skank, but I can still give you a good time."

Rosalie and Emmett stepped forward to block Lauren's view of me. "I believe that you're the one who's the skank Mallory," Rosalie said in that icy snobby tone of hers.

I tried really hard to stop the tears, but they fell. "P-please leave me alone."

Lauren laughed, "Right whore. And let you get away with lying about your step-father." I couldn't take it anymore and ran. Lauren and her friends began to chant, "Slut, slut, you're a slut!" at my retreating back. This time I didn't even fight the tears as the fell down my cheeks.

"Onora," I heard Rosalie call in the store. I knew she would find me so I poked my head out from the clothes rack I was hiding behind. She offered her hand and helped me out.

"They left," she said as if commenting on the weather. "Emmett has some good persuasion techniques." Se smiled, but I didn't react. I just wanted to be numb. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

I shrugged my shoulders and wrapped my arms and my midsection. I was emotionally shutting down was beginning to feel nothing. However, I accepted the nothingness, I craved it. Rosalie led me out of the store, "We're all ready to go home. I bet you're starving." _Not really._

Everyone was waiting for us at the cars. It was decided that Rosalie and Emmett would drive home in Rosalie's car while Jasper, Alice, Me and Edward would drive home in Edward's car. Alice chatted all the way back to Forks and didn't seem to notice that I wasn't joining in the conversation.

When we finally reached the house, I jumped out of the car and headed into the house. Esme threw me a greeting as I passed and asked if I wanted something to eat.

"I'm not hungry," I replied as I walked up the stairs to my bedroom. I locked myself inside and curled into a ball on my bed. A few minutes later, Esme cam and knocked on my door and called my name, but I ignored her. I just wanted to be left alone in my own misery. Of course I didn't really know how long I could last with these feelings. I didn't know how much time had passed when I finally got up. I wanted the darkness. I wanted to feel numb. I walked over to my bathroom and found a razor in the cabinet. I jumped when someone started banging on my door and I heard Edward shouting my name.

I couldn't let him stop me. I placed the razor at my wrist and just as I was slicing down my arm, my bedroom door was kicked open and rock hard arms grabbed me. The razor flew across the room and blood began to drip out of my wound.

"Leave me alone!" I screamed as I was dragged out of my room. In a matter of seconds we were downstairs and everyone was glaring at me. Except for Esme, she seemed to be crying. Edward had a tight hold on my wrist and I struggled to take it back. "I said leave me alone!" He ignored me and flicked his head and both Jasper and Emmett grabbed my arm and forced it down. I screamed at them, cursed at them, but they didn't budge. Edward had already started cleaning the wound and bandaging it up, not saying one word.

"Let go, you're hurting me," I complained. But of course they weren't really hurting me. They applied enough pressure to keep my arm down, but not enough to cause me pain. And they knew it too. All I could do was glare at Edward as he finished with my wound. Since I had stopped struggling, Jasper and Emmett released their hold on me. I saw my chance and I bolted to the front door. Again stone arms grabbed me and this time pushed me down onto the ground.

I sneered at Edward, "What, going to use me like my stepfather does Eddie boy?"

"I am trying to keep you from hurting yourself," he nearly growled. "Now tell us what's wrong!"

"Why would you care for the slut?" I asked as I began to struggle again. "Now get off and leave me alone!"

I just kept thinking of the videos how they showed what I truly was. Edward looked at me confused. "What videos?"

I heard Esme gasp, "I'm sorry Onora, I should have known."

I stopped struggling and started crying. I just couldn't seem to stop. "The videos that Scott made of me and him. The videos that prove I am a whore."

"You mean that bastard recorded you?" Rosalie asked, her voice colder than before. I heard a low growl rumble around the room.

I nodded and the tears choked my voice, "They're being used as evidence in the trial. Everyone will see them." I had to look away from everyone, "I did horrible things. Scott made me do things to him or he'd hurt me even more."

Edward let up and then and picked me up into a large hug. "I'm so sorry."

I wanted to hate him, but I didn't have the energy and cried onto his shoulder.

I woke up the next morning feeling groggy and the memories came flooding back. I looked down at my wrist and saw a thin of line of blood of the bandage. I felt ashamed of myself, but I knew I had to face everyone sooner or later and I was actually really hungry. I got dressed and made my way downstairs to the living room, anxious about what I was going to face. When I reached the dining room, I saw all the Cullens sitting around the dining room table. There was an empty chair with a plate of food sitting in front of it. I sat down, not able to look at everyone.

"I'm sorry about last night," I said quietly as I traced circles on the table not knowing what to do with my hands.

"Onora, Edward explained to me what happened last night," Carlisle explained. My heart beat increased. I just knew I was in so much trouble. "We wanted to apologize for not recognizing your feelings. We hope you can forgive us."

_Me forgive them? I was the one who was an idiot. _Edward grabbed my hand and squeezed it and I felt comforted. "I'm the one who tried to kill myself with a houseful of thirsty vampires." My brow furrowed. _How come they were all calm last night?_

"Your scent has a calming effect on us," Edward replied to my thoughts. "It was more potent with your blood. We felt human for a moment."

My stomach growled and I looked down at the plate. I smiled when I noticed it was a full Irish, black pudding and all. I hadn't one in years. "Thanks Esme," I gave her the best smile I could, but at the moment it was small.

Alice looked upset, "I thought I was your friend Onora. Why would you not tell me what was going on?"

"I thought you all would hate me when you knew everything that Scott had done to me," I replied as I took a bite. I was so hungry that I didn't care that they were watching. "And then the thing at the mall and I just couldn't take it anymore."

Carlisle nodded, "Well Esme and I have talked and we have decided that we will pay for you to have therapy."I opened my mouth to object, but he held up his hand. "We believe that being able to talk to someone, someone outside this family, will help you heal." I took another bite as I contemplated this.

"Onora," Rosalie called and I glanced over. She seemed uncomfortable. "You can also talk to me. My fiancé and his friends attacked me while I was still human."

"You too Rose?" I asked, ashamed even more at it hit me. There was someone who understood how I felt?

"We can talk about it later," she smiled, "just you and me away from everyone else."

I nodded, "I would like that."

**Cerrydwenn: This is my longest chapter yet. Over 4300 words. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review. They make me happy.**


	14. Too many emotions

**Cerrydwenn**: I know, I say it every time and I'm always late on the chapter. It was just a really hard chapter to write at first because I had to get the emotions right. Please read and review and tell me what you think. Also, if you guys review and tell me what gift you think Onora should get, I will try to add them in.

**Onora POV**

"More to come on this developing story of Onora Wales' accusations against her stepfather," the reporter on the news said and I turned off the television. I sighed and pulled myself off the couch. _Can't they come with anything else?_ I flinched when the fabric rubbed against the cut on my wrist and it started bleeding again. Part of me felt bad that I had done it, but another part felt disappointed that I hadn't succeeded. However, I should have thought it through a bit more. Cutting yourself surrounded by a houseful of vampires is not always the smartest idea. I felt myself getting depressed again and let out a long breath. _Hopefully talking to Rosalie will help. _

"Is everything okay, Dear?" Esme asked me as I changed the bandage. "I smelled blood." _Right, my blood isn't intoxicating. _

I shook my head, "I'm fine. My cut just opened." I stole a glance at Esme and could see the disappointment in her eyes. My stomach flipped with guilt and I quickly looked away. I held up my hand after I finished, "See all better." Still feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, I stood up and walked out of the room. The clock chimed three times and I cursed under my breath. Because of time this morning, Carlisle hadn't been able to finish his talk with me. And I knew that Edward still had some choice words to say to me. I really wanted to be left alone, but I knew that wish wasn't going to be granted any time soon. I looked around the room and my eyes landed on the piano. I made my way over to it and lightly strummed the keys, smiling at the sound they made. I situated myself on the bench and began to play a song. My papa had taught it to me years ago and I knew how to play it by heart and only messed up a few times. After I had finished I moved onto another song, one with a faster beat. As I played, I felt my sadness drain away. It was as if the keys were pulling it out through my fingertips. I finished the song with a small smile on my lips, but jumped up when I heard several people clapping. Memories flooded my head and all I could see was my mother yelling at me for making any noise.

"_I thought I told you I didn't want to hear you!" she yelled as she slapped me. "You little slut, I don't even want to know that you exist!" She slapped me again and I fell to the floor. She threw her empty vodka glass at me and I cringed at the pain and the thought of another bruise. "I knew I should have had that abortion," she commented as she passed me to get another glass and more vodka. _

"I-I-I'm sorry," I stuttered as I backed against the wall. "I won't do it again. I won't make any noise, I promise." I lifted my hands in front of me as if protecting me from whatever was about to be thrown at me. "Please don't be mad, I didn't mean to do it."

Cold hard arms encircled me and I instantly began to calm down, "Shh, it's okay." Edward whispered soothingly in my ear. "They're not here and they can't hurt you."

I put my arms down and leaned against him. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't think of the words. Another set of cold arms grabbed mine and pulled me away from the wall and toward the couch. I finally looked up to take in my surroundings and saw seven pairs of golden eyes staring at me.

I opened my mouth to apologize, but Edward cut me off. "You don't have to apologize," he said as he brushed my hair from my eyes. "It's okay, you can make any amount of noise you want to. And you can play the piano any time you want."

Rosalie sat down on the coffee table in front of me, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"M-m," I almost said mother but stopped myself. She was never my mother. A mother never left her child or let a monster hurt her. "Elise never wanted me. When I moved here, she would hit me for just being in the same room as her." I took a deep breath trying to get my voice under control. "She would even complain of my screams and cries when he hurt me. After a while she would just pass out drunk in the house or end up going out." I wrapped my arms around me, "I tried so hard to be good. I thought if I was good, she would love me and send that monster away, but I wasn't good enough. I deserved…"

Rosalie cut me off abruptly, "Onora Wales, this is in no way your fault. You did nothing to deserve what those two put you through." She grabbed my shoulders, "Those cretins are the ones who are at fault and they deserve so much worse than sitting in jail." Her eyes grew softer, "And none of us think that you aren't good enough."

Esme, who had sat down beside me agreed with her, "She's right sweetie. We love you."

I shook my head frantically. They would never love me. No one would ever love me. I was too damaged. _You don't know what he has done to me._

Rosalie grabbed my chin and looked me square in the eye, "One night before my wedding, my fiancé and some of his friends attacked me leaving me bloodied and dead on the street." She grabbed Emmett's hand with her free one, "Carlisle found me and tried to save me, but he ended up turning me and a few years later I found someone who loves me no matter what." My eyes had grown has she revealed her story. "There are days when I still feel as you do, but I go to Emmett and he reminds me that he doesn't see the stain of those men. It's hard, but one day you will understand that we don't see that excuse for a man when we look at you."

"What do you see?" I asked with tears streaming down my face. I was so sick of crying, but I couldn't make myself stop.

"I see my little sister," she replied and smiled. I looked at her, surprised, as memories of our first meeting flooded my mind. She had hated me.

I turned toward Edward when I heard him chuckle and saw him holding a box of tissues. "Who had thought that Rose's little ice heart could love someone else. I never knew you thought that way about me."

She sniffed, "I never said anything about liking you." The family laughed and Rose gave me a huge smile and some tension had lifted, but I still wasn't happy.

"What else is troubling you?" Jasper asked from his place next to Alice who sat in the large armchair. I hesitated, not wanting to tell them. "And remember, I can sense what you are feeling, Edward can hear what you are thinking and Alice can see your future."

I began to shake my head, but I saw the pleading eyes of the Cullens and sighed heavily. "I don't want to do Christmas." As I said this, the memories invaded my mind and I began to shake.

Cries of surprise filled my ears and I cringed, "Never mind, I shouldn't have asked." I tried to stand but was automatically pulled back down onto the couch.

"Quiet," Carlisle's voice broke through everyone else and he was suddenly sitting beside me while Edward was standing at the window looking out at the woods that surrounded the house. The shaking hadn't stopped so I grabbed Rose's hand and pressed it against my face. The coldness of her skin was comforting and I began to calm down.

"Sorry Jasper," I mumbled knowing I was probably sending him on a rollercoaster.

"Onora," Carlisle grabbed my attention. I turned to him without letting go of Rose's hand. "Can you tell us why you don't want to celebrate Christmas?"

I remained quiet and finally dropped Rose's hand. I wasn't ready to tell them everything. _Don't they know how hard this is for me?_

"Her demon of a step-father," Edward suddenly growled, "made her do things." He turned toward me and I saw anger and hate in his eyes. "Just leave it at that."

_Thank you Edward. _His eyes softened, "When you are ready to talk about it we are here," he held out his hand. I took it and he pulled me into a hug, "Just please don't shut us out like last night." He kissed the top of my head and I could feel the tension that had been building up in my body for the past few days lift.

"I have an idea," Alice suggested, "why don't we celebrate a step at a time?" I pulled away from Edward just enough to give Alice a quizzical look. "We can start with decorating the tree, and if you feel too overwhelmed you can step back." She smiled, "This way we can start our own traditions."

My eyes softened, "You would do that for me? You wouldn't be angry?"

"You are a part of this family and we want you to feel comfortable," Carlisle replied and I smiled. "Just as Edward said, please don't close us out."

I nodded and my stomach growled, "I'm hungry." The Cullens laughed and the feeling was light once again.

"I'll make something," Esme volunteered and flew off to the kitchen before I could stop her.

**Edward POV**

I sat on the floor in front of the couch as the whole family watched _White Christmas. _Onora decided to start small with the Christmas traditions and asked if the whole family could watch a movie. So now we were all sprawled out in the living room in front of the television. Onora was lying on the couch in her pajamas with her head on Rose's lap and feet on Alice's. Rose had a protective arm around the small redhead as if daring any one to come too close. Every few minutes she would reach down into the now half empty bowl of popcorn and grab a handful. Rosemary Clooney's song "Love You Didn't Do Right By Me" began and Onora softly sang along with the movie as she had done through the whole thing. I looked behind me to face her and smiled when she blushed.

"What?" she asked shyly. _"Was I annoying?"_

I shook my head at her, "I was just admiring the way you sing." Her blush deepened. "How do you know all the songs?"

"Papa and I would always watch this movie on December 1st," she replied and the memories flooded her mind. I was happy she had a happy one to remember. "Then every night for the rest of the month we would watch another random Christmas movie." She sighed, "Every year the movies would be different. Except for this one. This is has been the first since I was four."

She gave me a small smile and turned back to the movie. I wanted her to smile and would do anything to make sure she continued to smile. I really wanted to kill Scott and I knew my sibling felt the same. No, I didn't just want to kill him, I wanted him to suffer. I wanted him to feel every bit of pain that Onora had felt. _And I would do it without spilling one drop of blood. Death by vampire would be too merciful for him._

"_Edward you okay?" _Jasper asked me in his head. I nodded trying to hold back the murderer inside me. I knew with my emotions added in with Jasper's, he was losing the little control he had over his vampire side. "Sorry Jasper," I said just loud enough for a vampire to hear. "I was just thinking of ways to make that idiot suffer."

"You'll have to beat me to him," Rosalie joined in the conversation. "I'll make him last for weeks before he finally dies." Sometimes it was scary how deep her lust for blood went.

"Children, let's not talk about murder with Onora around," Esme chided. I smiled. She never said to stop talking about killing the excuse for a man. Besides, I was sure we could all have a turn at him.

I looked behind me to check on Onora and found her asleep. I was surprised it had taken her this long to fall asleep. It had been an emotional few days and she hadn't been sleeping well. However, at that moment, she seemed to be content; even her thoughts were calm while she slept. I stood up and picked her bridal style. The only movement she made was to nestle her face into the crook of my neck and wrap her arms around me. I was glad I couldn't blush because I would have right at that moment. I ran at vampire speed up the stairs to her bedroom. Esme had gone ahead of me and opened the door and turned down the covers so all I had to do was lay her down on the bed.

She mumbled in her sleep when I set her down and curled up in the quilt after Esme tucked her in. Esme gave her a loving look before heading to the door. She stopped and turned toward me waiting for me to follow her. I shook my head. I wanted to keep her safe, even from her nightmares. I didn't just want to comfort her through one. I wanted to keep them away.

"_Edward," _Esme grabbed my attention in her mind. _"I know you want to help her, but remember she needs time. If she wakes up and finds you watching, you will frighten her and will have to start over with her." _I nodded and exited the room. I stopped for only a second to get another glimpse of her peaceful face and left.

"NOOOOO!" Onora shouted as she fought me. "Please stop! Stop hurting me! I'll be good!" I had turned the light on filling the room with the yellow glow so could see it was safe.

I pulled her closer trying to calm her down, "Onora, it's okay. It's only a dream. You're safe." I grabbed her hands to keep her from hurting herself, but it only caused her to struggle more. "Onora, wake up, it's me. Edward."

"I didn't mean too, I'm sorry! Let me go!" she yelled and continued to struggle. After another few minutes, I finally managed to get her out of the nightmare. I pulled her into my lap and she cried against my shoulder. Alice had snuck in and dropped a box of tissues on the bed, so I grabbed one and handed it to Onora when the crying had subsided a bit.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed and rubbed he nose with the tissue. "I seem to only cry." She nestled her forehead into the curve of my neck and sighed. "I'm sorry to be such a problem."

"You're not a problem," I whispered and rubbed her back. "I'm sorry I can't do more to keep the nightmares away."

"_Should I ask him? I don't want to be alone." _she thought and I looked down at her confused."You might as well just ask me. You'll keep me up all night with wonder."

I smiled when I felt her shake with silent laughter, "You don't sleep you dork."

_She just called me a dork. A dork? _"I'm still going to keep wondering and I won't drink any blood as my mind is over run with what you want to ask me." I pulled her face up so I could get lost in her eyes. "I will wither away and become nothing but a husk. Do you really want me to become a husk?"She smiled and laid her head against my chest, "I doubt you will wither away, but could you stay with me tonight?"

I nodded and she repositioned herself back onto the bed. She covered herself up and when I wrapped an arm around her, she shivered for a moment and then settled. I hummed a song quietly as she fell asleep.

**Onora POV**

It was Christmas day and my stomach was in knots. It didn't help that my morning sickness was acting up as well. I took one last look in the mirror to check my appearance even though I had done it only a few minutes before. I was stalling and I knew it, but I was too scared to go downstairs. Alice's idea of doing Christmas a step at a time was a good one, but I barely managed to make it through putting up the Christmas tree. I seriously didn't want to have to go through opening gifts. _Gifts mean I have to give something…_

There was a quiet knock on my door and before I could mumble an answer, Edward entered and put his arms around me. I leaned into the comfort of his cold skin.

"I'll be down soon," I told him as my voice quivered. I was trying so hard to be strong for this family and I was an utter failure.

Edward kissed the top of my head, "If you don't think you can handle it, you don't have to go down there."

I shook my head, "Alice will be disappointed."

I held in a growl, "Alice can stand to be a little disappointed once in a while. She gets her way too often."

I shook my head again, "I'll go down there." I pushed away from his hold, but grabbed his hand and headed for the door, "There can't be more than what five or six presents for me." _And I have nothing to give them. I don't have anything._

"Right," Edward agreed in a weird tone and we walked down the stairs to the living room. What I saw made my jaw drop. What had only a few presents the day before now had Mount Everest. _These can't all be for me._

Alice gave me a guilty smile, "Look Onora, Santa came!"

**Scott POV**

The video ended and I threw my remote at the screen, missing it by a good foot in my drunk and drugged state. Only my stash was keeping me calm and I was running low. Watching Onora wasn't even close to the feeling of her quivering under my body. I wanted her, not some DVD version of her! I wanted to taste her skin and run my hands over her breasts… I yelled out in anger. "Those stupid Cullens took her away from me! They made her lie!" To calm myself down, I snorted another line of the white powder.

"I have plans for you Onora," I mumbled as the affects took over, "I have plans and I will make sure you never lie or run out on me again." I smiled, "And I'll make the Cullen's watch." I stumbled around the room and my foot hit a small box on the floor. I picked it up, trying to make out the designs through my blurred vision. After a few moments, I recognized it as the gift I had bought for Onora.

"Poor little Onora shouldn't be forgotten on Christmas," I said and laughed. "I have to make sure she gets this today." Another plan was forming in my mind. "I'll just need to add some things first. It needs to be a complete set."

**Cerrydwenn:** What is Scott going to do? Review and try to guess. Also, if you are Gundam Wing fans, please check out my other story.


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